Hungarian Grand Prix Preview

It has been a difficult few days for Formula One. We have been brought up with the sport going further and further to increase the safety for drivers. but motorsport is still dangerous, hence why it says that your tickets.

The circus moving to Hungary after a break where the German Grand Prix should have been gave time for the paddock to think about the events of the weekend, and will most notably be a part of the weekend in Hungary.

Heading to the racing, we have had a three week gap (most in part thanks to the Germans not taking up their place on the calendar). We have a four week gap afterwards, so we might see a few teams bring some experimental parts to free practice in time to evaluate them for Spa at the end of August.

Another talking point of the weekend will be Kimi Raikkonen, with rumours suggesting he wont be retained at Ferrari next season, with fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas the leading runner for the seat. Nothing can be said though until the end of the month when the option runs out on Kimi, so it could be announced on or before the Belgian Grand Prix. Don’t expect anything too soon from Williams as a replacement though, they look to have plenty of options including Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button, Felipe Nasr and even one of the McLaren youngsters Magnussen or Vandoorne.

Mercedes will be looking to keep their advantage going into the summer break, but as we saw last year the advantage could be less around the tight track of the Hungaroring. Ferrari should be more competitive here, and you could see Toro Rosso have a strong result too, especially after their strong early pace in Monaco. Williams could struggle with the high downforce as they showed in Monaco, although they do believe they are finding their way on a resolution.

Hamilton once again gave the home fans something to shout about at Silverstone, but 2014 was somewhat of a disaster in the mixed conditions with Red Bull winning. While it would be unexpected that Red Bull would win in Hungary, the team will have to be looking over their shoulder. Rosberg will also be wanting to head into the second part of the season on a high, although last year Lewis Hamilton came back all guns blazing.

No doubt we will hear more rumours about changes to either the 2016 or 2017 rules. That might include changes to the race weekend we hard about from the last strategy group meeting, although at the moment it looks like just a collection of ideas which have been bounced around, rather than a cohesive plan.

#f1 #hungary