Hungarian Grand Prix 2014, Hungaroring, Preview and Weekend Times

Opening hours

Friday July 25

Free Practice 1: 10pm-00pm (Sky Sport F11 HD – RaiSport 30)

Free Practice 2: 14pm-00pm (Sky Sport F15 HD – RaiSport 30)

Saturday 26 July

Free Practice 3: 11pm-00pm (Sky Sport F12 HD – RaiSport 00)

Qualifying: 14pm (Sky Sport F00 HD – Rai 1)

Sunday 27 July

Race: 14pm ̶ 00 laps ̶ 70km (Sky Sport F306,630 HD – Rai 1)

Previous race

Podium:

Nico Rosberg: Deutschland über alles. A few days after the German triumph at the Maracana, Nico, at home, after FIFA had denied him the satisfaction of showing off the newly won World Cup on his helmet for image reasons, goes to take an easy victory, managing the race from start to finish. On Saturday he duly conquered pole without rivals, which allowed him to dominate the following day, remaining for the entire race practically without a single shot. He thus returns to extend the advantage over his direct pursuer, his teammate, bringing the gap in terms of points to 15: certainly not much, but previous seasons teach us that everything counts in order to win the championship, even a only point.

Valtteri Bottas: third consecutive time on the podium for the young Finn. Thanks to Williams' extraordinary competitiveness, this talent is definitely showing off in the last three races. On Saturday he took second place ahead of his certainly more experienced teammate, on Sunday, having narrowly escaped the terrible accident at the start, he managed to manage the tires and race strategy well and contain an attacking Lewis Hamilton in the final. The title of best of the day was certainly contested with the Englishman, but the consistency seen in these last three races is the most important thing Bottas put on the field.

Lewis Hamilton: we expected a spectacular race, but we didn't expect it that much. For us at F1GrandPrix.it, Lewis was the best. Maybe he's not the most precise, not as impeccable as Rosberg, but he rightfully takes the place of Top of the day. Also because it would be difficult to write a Top who isn't him. From twentieth to third. Let's leave aside the overtaking on the various Marussias, Caterhams, etc., and go on to praise the double overtakings at the hairpin that made us all feel like children again, with our eyes glued to the screen to find out how it would end. Lewis definitely got his hands dirty, no doubt, but that's what we like. Bad overtaking, not the obvious ones with DRS on the straight; they are the breathtaking braking moments, the ones in which you say "it will never get there", or "no, it won't", and when the car instead throws itself in, in that instant you think "what now?". Contacts, then, are part of the show, and today the Hamilton Show was on stage. And luckily this time the commissioners had the decency not to inflict penalties on anyone and let it run a bit the old fashioned way. This Sunday, and at least this Sunday, Formula 1 surpassed the recent MotoGP in terms of spectacularity. At least once this satisfaction was granted to us.

1 Flop:

Daniil Kvyat: “He has shown many beautiful things this season, but this accident is not one of them” is how the English Sky commentator describes the accident with Perez. Indeed he is right, this is definitely not the right weekend for Daniil. First he ruins a possible good race by making a serious mistake, blocking the path of the Force India Mexican who, helplessly, sends him into a spin through no fault of his own. Subsequently, what goes up in smoke, or rather, on fire, is his car, and the Russian has nothing left to do but abandon the cockpit dejectedly, definitively abandoning the race.

Circuit

Name:hungaroring

Location: Hazelnut, Hungary

Construction: The first GP held on this track dates back to 1986, and therefore very few changes have been made to the track from then until today. Worth mentioning are the changes to Turn 3, Turn 11 and the lengthening of the main straight. All these measures have been taken with the aim of increasing the spectacularity of the race, which usually turns out to be one of the most boring of the season.

Distance per lap: 4,381km

Number of curves: 14

Direction of travel: hours

3 Best Parts: Turn 1: modified over the years, it is perhaps the only point on the track where overtaking can be done in a civilized manner. It is in fact located at the end of the DRS activation zone, and must be tackled at just under 100km/h in second gear. Turns 6 and 7: this is a narrow chicane about halfway through the lap. A right-left in which any possibility of overtaking without contact or cutting a curve is impossible. It is also a very difficult point as many times the driver can have difficulty exiting and end up spinning. Turns 10 and 11: one bend to the left and one to the right respectively, both to be tackled at high speed, around 250km/h completely supported. Here the trajectory is essential to obtain the best speed and not to go wide at the exit of the last corner.

Mechanical Stress: The Hungaroring is considered by tire suppliers to be like a city circuit, due to its tortuosity and medium-low speed. The lack of straights apart from the starting one contributes significantly to increasing the temperature of the tyres, which are stressed to the extreme by the narrow curves of the track. The high temperatures at the end of July will not help drivers save their tyres. The braking system is used for 15% of the lap, and this makes the Hungarian track one of the most demanding for the brakes.

Tire Choice: PZERO YELLOW SOFT and PZERO WHITE MEDIUM

DRS area: on the main straight between Turn 14 and Turn 1 and between Turn 1 and Turn 2, both with detection points before Turn 14.

Previous Editions

Last 3 Editions:

2011 edition: in the two free practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren – Mercedes) set the best times with Sebastian Vettel (RBR – Renault) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) behind him on both occasions. The German himself was the fastest in FP3 on Saturday morning, trailing Alonso by three tenths, while Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button was third. Qualifying: at the end of Q3 Sebastian Vettel took pole, 23rd personally and 31st for the team, with Hamilton on the front row followed by Button, Massa, Alonso, Webber, Rosberg, Sutil, Schumacher and Pérez. Race: it starts with a wet track and a light rain which sees the two Ferraris and Webber's Red Bull slide backwards; Alonso begins his personal comeback, passing the two Mercedes, only to then go off the track twice due to slipperiness and fall back behind Massa. In the meantime, the race leader also changes: Vettel has obvious problems keeping his car on the track and Hamilton takes advantage of this, as he seems to be at ease with the McLaren. On lap 7 Massa goes off the track, damaging the nose of his car, while Alonso overtakes Rosberg and takes fourth place. Webber was the first to change tires on the tenth lap, gaining an advantage over his direct rivals and managing to obtain 4th place in the round of pit stops. Danger on lap 24 for Nick Heidfeld after his car coming out of the pits catches fire due to debris underneath it, fortunately the German manages to get out in time and return safely to the pits. At 36^a back Alonso manages to overtake Webber by anticipating the tire change and mounting super soft, but a few laps later the rain returns to the track, causing Hamilton to spin and lose not only the leadership but also the chance for the podium when he decides to fit intermediate tires just when the rain stops. Also penalized by a drive-through for a dangerous maneuver, he had to leave room for Button who thus went on to win ahead of Vettel and Alonso in what was his 200th Grand Prix.

2012 edition: like the previous year, Lewis Hamilton on a Mercedes-powered McLaren is the fastest in both Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2, while in the third session on Saturday morning Mark Webber (RBR – Renault) manages to beat the Englishman's time. Qualifying: an amazing Hamilton dominates in Q1, Q2 and finally in Q3, taking pole position ahead of Romain Grosjean (Lotus – Renault) and Sebastian Vettel (RBR – Renault); It's the 150^a pole for the Woking team. Race: the restart procedure must be repeated as Schumacher's Mercedes (17th on the grid) does not start during the reconnaissance lap. At the second start the cars started regularly with Hamilton leading the group while behind Button overtook Vettel for third place and Alonso overcame Rӓikkӧnen for fifth. Vettel and Grosjean manage to maintain a higher pace than their pursuers, gaining a few seconds; on the 16th pass Button is the first of the tops to refuel, followed by the others. Alonso loses time behind Pérez who hasn't changed yet and Rӓikkӧnen takes advantage of this as he regains fifth position. On lap 34 Button returns again and opts for tyres soft, In the meantime, the Flying Finn is in the lead and, having been called back to the pits for the usual pit stop, puts on hard compound tires and manages to keep his teammate behind him with a great manoeuvre. Kimi tries to catch up with the race leader, arriving within a second of him but Hamilton manages to prevail and win over the two Lotus drivers. Behind the three come Vettel, Alonso, Button, Bruno Senna, Webber, Massa and Rosberg. Alonso maintains the championship lead with 40 points ahead of Webber and 42 over Vettel.

2013 edition: in the two sessions on Friday Sebastian Vettel (RBR – Renault) was the fastest, beating teammate Mark Webber on both occasions. On Saturday morning Romain Grosjean (Lotus – Renault) set the best time ahead of Fernando Alonso and Sergio Pérez (McLaren – Mercedes). Qualifying: Mercedes immediately made itself noticed by placing the two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, in the first two places in Q1. At the end of Q3 the Englishman confirmed himself as the fastest by winning the second consecutive pole at Hockenheim, behind him the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel and the Lotus of Grosjean, Nico Rosberg fourth, third row for Alonso and Rӓikkӧnen. Race: at the start Hamilton maintains the lead ahead of Vettel and Grosjean while Alonso with an excellent start manages to get close to the three, behind Rosberg he has contact with Massa and finds himself in twelfth position after an off-piste. Between the tenth and fourteenth laps the leading group makes their respective pit stops and Webber finds himself in the lead, followed by Hamilton, Button, Vettel, Grosjean Alonso and Pérez. On lap 24 the Australian goes to the pits and so Hamilton has a clear path while Vettel manages after many attempts to overtake Button, who due to his tire crisis will have to give up a further two positions. On lap 32 Hamilton returns to the pits to change sets of tires and will retake the lead 3 laps later. drive through for Grosjean following a contact with Button, the Frenchman has to say goodbye to the top 3 definitively. Between lap 48 and 51 Alonso and Hamilton come in for the third tire change, the Spaniard returns to fifth position while the Englishman is second, but after Vettel also needs a new set he can easily regain first place and thus go on to win in front of a silent yet concrete Kimi Rӓikkӧnen and Sebastian Vettel.

Best Edition For Authors:

1989 edition: for the first time the pole position was won not by a driver from the Woking team (which had achieved 16 consecutive poles), but by Riccardo Patrese (Williams Renault) ahead of the world champion Ayrton Senna (McLaren – Honda), in the second row a surprising Alex Caffi on Dallara – Cosworth and Thierry Boutsen, Patrese's teammate; fifth is Alain Prost flanked by the first Ferrari of Gerhard Berger, while the other Ferrari driver Nigel Mansell is only twelfth. However, in the warm-up on Sunday morning the English Lion said he was confident about the match and with his usual composure replied that he was aiming for victory, surprising the journalists, who were incredulous at those words. Race: Patrese gets off to a good start and is followed by Senna, while Caffi immediately gives in to Berger and Prost, with the Frenchman shortly after overtaking the Austrian and trying to catch up with the first two. Behind, however, Mansell makes an astonishing comeback: with a spot-on start he immediately overtakes two cars and continues his climb undaunted, although the leaders already seem far away. On lap 22 he catches Caffi and passes him, after the first tire change he is ahead of his teammate Berger (who will have to retire due to gearbox problems), Prost can only assist as he doesn't even try to block the advance of the English Lion. Now Patrese and Senna appear in front, fighting since the first lap, but the Italian on lap 53 has to slow down due to radiator problems, which shortly thereafter causes him to retire: only Senna ahead of Mansell. Even “Magic” had to give in to the Ferrari driven by an unstoppable Mansell on the 58th lap of the race, after the Englishman took advantage of the traffic created by the lapping of Stefan Johansson (Onyx – Cosworth) to overtake. On lap 77 Nigel Mansell crosses the finish line with over twenty-five seconds ahead of Senna, sending the public into raptures, second is Senna and third Boutsen, then Prost, Cheever, Piquet and Caffi, seventh and out of the points zone but first of the non-lapped that day by the winner.

Best Edition For Readers:

With 39% of the preferences, here is the edition of your choice.

1998 edition: on the difficult Hungarian track where qualifying is (almost) everything, the two McLaren - Mercedes occupy the front row, with Mika Hӓkkinen on pole and David Coulthard second; behind them Michael Schumacher with the Ferrari 4 tenths behind and the Jordan – Honda of Damon Hill. Race: excellent start for the two McLarens with Schumacher who can't help but tag along, behind Irvine with the other Ferrari he manages to overtake Hill for fourth place, then Villeneuve, Frentzen, Wurz, Alesi. Surprisingly, the Northern Irishman's Ferrari laps the fastest, dragging the whole group with it, but on the 13th lap he has to say goodbye to his dreams of a comeback due to an electronic failure, the trio in front of him can thus increase their advantage over their pursuers who were driven right by Irvine. From lap 24 onwards the first series of refueling begins without anything changing in the leading positions, while behind Frentzen has problems with a wheel nut which forces his mechanics into a long intervention. On lap 28, Jarno Trulli (Prost – Peugeot) retired due to engine problems. Surprise move by Ferrari which changes strategy by having the German return to the pits for a pit stop during the 43^a round: he started again with little fuel and fresh tires, breaking partial records, overtaking Coulthard after he returned to the pits and setting out to "hunt" for Hӓkkinen. So it happens that on lap 46 Schumacher is leading the race and the Finn is forced to chase him, however the latter seems to have gearbox problems and noticeably loses ground, having to leave the track to Coulthard. Even with an extra stop, Schumacher managed to exit the pit lane first and thus take home his fifth race of the season ahead of Coulthard and Jacques Villeneuve (Williams), with Hӓkkinen only sixth due to gearbox problems. Thus the drivers' classification also reopens with Schumacher at 70 and 7 points behind the Finnish leader.

Predictions from F1GrandPrix.it

The Mercedes advantage is now embarrassing, we saw it yesterday in Germany and we will repeat it until the end of the season. On a track where qualifying counts a lot due to the almost impossibility of overtaking, in the race after the two Mercedes the challenge between Williams and Red Bull will be interesting, while Ferrari seems to be far away in terms of flying laps. In any case, a good tactical choice could at least mix up the cards in play in the race, we'll see who will be able to opt for the best one.

RECORD

Test lap: 1:19.146 – M Schumacher – Ferrari – 2004
Race lap: 1:19.071 – M Schumacher – Ferrari – 2004
Distance: 1h35:26.131 – M Schumacher – Ferrari – 2004
Driver victories: 4 – M Schumacher
Team victories: 11 – McLaren
Driver pole: 7 – M Schumacher
Pole team: 8 – McLaren
Best driver laps: 4 – M Schumacher, L Hamilton
Best team laps: 9 – Williams
Driver podiums: 7 – A Senna, M Schumacher
Team podiums: 22 – McLaren

Hall of Fame

1. 1936 T Nuvolari – Alfa Romeo
2. 1986 N Piquet – Williams Honda
3. 1987 N Piquet – Williams Honda
4. 1988 At Senna – McLaren Honda
5. 1989 N Mansell – Ferrari
6. 1990 T Boutsen – Williams Renault
7. 1991 At Senna – McLaren Honda
8. 1992 At Senna – McLaren Honda
9. 1993 D Hill – Williams Renault
10. 1994 M Schumacher – Benetton Ford
11. 1995 D Hill – Williams Renault
12. 1996 J Villeneuve – Williams Renault
13. 1997 J Villeneuve – Williams Renault
14. 1998 M Schumacher – Ferrari
15. 1999 M Hakkinen – McLaren Mercedes
16. 2000 M Hakkinen – McLaren Mercedes
17. 2001 M Schumacher – Ferrari
18. 2002 R Barrichello – Ferrari
19. 2003 F Alonso – Renault
20. 2004 M Schumacher – Ferrari
21. 2005 K Räikkönen – McLaren Mercedes
22. 2006 J Button – Honda
23. 2007 L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes
24. 2008 H Kovalainen – McLaren Mercedes
25. 2009 L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes
26. 2010 M Webber – Red Bull Renault
27. 2011 J Button – McLaren Mercedes
28. 2012 L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes
29. 2013 L Hamilton – Mercedes

Andrea Villa, Matteo Bramati

Sources: Brembo, Pirelli.