2021 FORMULA 1 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

How does the team reflect on Silverstone?

While it’s good we scored double points in Silverstone – and very important points for the championship - our ambitions remain higher than finishing seventh and ninth. That said, as a team, we contributed to the success of the first Sprint Qualifying in Formula 1, thanks to a brave tyre choice and great drives from Fernando and Esteban, which allowed us to recover from a somewhat disappointing qualifying performance on Friday - and to put on a good show for the fans in attendance.

How would you describe Fernando and Esteban’s performances last weekend?

I think Fernando has now silenced for good whoever doubted his return would be a success. His speed is still there, and his race-craft is second to none, as we saw once again in both races last Saturday and Sunday. He will no doubt continue pushing himself and the team as the season goes on. After two difficult weekends, it was great to see Esteban in good form and a solid weekend allowed him to return to the points. He can now build on this good performance and retrieve his superb early season form.

Is the team looking forward to racing in Hungary?

On a personal level, I always enjoy the trip to Budapest. It’s a beautiful city and one of my favourite destinations of the season, and I think most of the team will agree with me! The Hungaroring is a tight and twisty track and notoriously difficult to overtake on. That means qualifying will be important and we will need to realise the potential of the car on Saturday to put ourselves in a place where we can fight for the higher points-scoring positions in the race.

It’s been an intense season so far, how is the team approaching the final race before the summer break?

It’s the stage of the year when Grand Prix fatigue is kicking in after quite a few races already. It’s been a big push from the start of the season with both Enstone and Viry working hard to develop the car. The focus has now switched entirely to 2022 at both factories, meaning there are fewer new parts coming to the track, but the second half of the calendar is a gruelling schedule and everyone in the team looks forward to the two-week break to recharge. But, before we can relax, we are aiming for another strong showing and a double points finish in Hungary.

Hungry for Hungary

Esteban Ocon made a return to the points in Silverstone to end a four-race point-less streak. Now, he is looking ahead to racing at the Hungaroring, one of his favourite circuits on the Formula 1 calendar. The Frenchman is targeting more points before the summer break.

What’s the feeling heading to Hungary?

The Hungaroring is one of my favourite tracks on the Formula 1 calendar. It’s a great place to drive a Formula 1 car as it has a nice flow and rhythm to it: it’s all about maximising corners and piecing everything together. I’m feeling happy going to Hungary after a promising weekend in Silverstone where the car felt much better than it had in previous rounds. The team and I have continued to work hard in our preparation on the simulator to be ready for Hungary. It’s the final round before the summer break, and the aim is to score more points to end the first part of the season on a positive trend.

What’s your record like there?

I have some good memories from the Hungaroring. I won two from three races there in 2014 in Formula 3 with three pole positions. In GP3, I was on the podium twice, so it’s definitely a circuit I feel positive about. In Formula 1, the results haven’t reflected my confidence at the track, so that’s a record I want to improve. This year, we will target a solid Friday’s work ready to attack the rest of the weekend.

How challenging is a lap of the Hungaroring?

The circuit is fast with a lot of interesting corner combinations. It’s a fun lap when you get it right. Sector 1 has the long straight with an overtaking opportunity into Turn 1 and then again at Turn 2 where it’s possible to overtake. Turn 4 is a very satisfying corner as it’s so fast and blind on the entry. The rest of the lap is relatively fast and quite twisty, except the chicane, with the final sector quite tight with the two hairpins. The tyres tend to overheat in the final sector so that’s something we have to keep an eye on.

How important was it to be in the points in Silverstone last time out?

I was pleased to return to the points in Silverstone after a difficult run of races. It was important that we bounced back and our performance, in general, was good. I think the Sprint format worked in our favour on this occasion as we took a gamble by starting on Softs and it meant we were better placed on the Sunday grid. I was a little unfortunate at the start but other than that, our pace was competitive, we have identified further areas to work on and that means we’re feeling ready to go for it this weekend in Hungary. I’m looking forward to it! 

Birthday boy

Fernando Alonso heads to Budapest for the final Grand Prix before Formula 1’s summer break, having mesmerised the paddock with his performances in the British Grand Prix. The Spaniard now returns to the place of his first ever win in Formula 1 as he aims to celebrate his birthday weekend with another good result at the Hungaroring.

You made it five points scoring finishes in a row at the British Grand Prix, how was the weekend for you?

It will be interesting to see what the fans thought of the new format as, at the end of the day, it was designed for them, but I did like that there was action on all three of the days. I did well in Sprint Qualifying and made the most of my start, overtaking quite a few cars around the first few corners. Then the race on Sunday was tough and felt very long. We executed a very good race and strategy, scoring some more points for the team. It was nice seeing the fans in the grandstands and it really added to the occasion. The result means I have to continue doing a track walk in Budapest, which will probably be a hot one!

You’re returning to the track where you took your maiden Formula 1 victory in 2003. What are your thoughts heading into the weekend?

I’m looking forward to it. Obviously, it’s a circuit where there isn’t much time to breathe with lots of tight corners. It feels like a big go-kart circuit. We all love driving there because I think the driver has a quite a bit more input than some circuits. I’ve had some good results in Hungary, most notably in 2003 when I took my first ever Formula 1 win. I’ve also scored a few podiums too and the pole position in 2009 was good. I feel like the team is improving all the time, especially after the performance at Silverstone where both cars finished in the points, so we’re hopeful of another good weekend.

It's your birthday on Thursday, what will you be doing to celebrate it?

I am looking forward to the birthday celebrations. I think the team have a few things planned too. It’s quite nice to be celebrating a birthday at a Formula 1 weekend so I can’t complain. We will be sure to have some cake and celebrate a little bit, but we have an important weekend ahead, so I’ll be fully focused on racing. It’s our last race before the summer shutdown and I am looking to continue our good form in Budapest.

Alpine Academy

Martins and Collet set sights on Hungary as Formula 3 nears halfway point

Alpine Academy pair Victor Martins and Caio Collet are in action this weekend as the FIA Formula 3 Championship races on the Formula 1 support programme for round four of the season.

It’s been a solid opening part of the year for both Victor and Caio, who are rookies in this year’s championship. Victor is fifth in the series on 66 points with Caio eighth on 41 points. It was a frustrating round in Austria last time out for the duo after showing promising speed.

Caio had pole position snatched away for a track limits infringement and was given a 10-second penalty in Race 1 for a similar offence meaning he was demoted to seventeenth place after finishing sixth. Victor finished fourth on the road but a penalty for him pushed him back a place. Further misfortune followed in Race 2 with Caio outside the points in seventeenth. Victor was second with two laps to go, chasing first place, but a high-pressure fuel pump failure meant he had to retire.

For Race 3, starting P4, Caio stalled on the line falling to P30 by Turn 1. He overtook 19 cars to finish in seventh place at the chequered flag. Victor was running in sixth place when he was taken out by Arthur Leclerc at Turn 4, forcing him to retire.

Victor Martins: “Budapest is our next weekend, and that means we are reaching the halfway point of the season. I’m pretty pleased about our performance on track since the first race this year and I believe we are getting stronger weekend by weekend. I’ve had some good memories at the track in Hungary, and I love the flow of the circuit. So, I’m really looking forward to racing there and I’m going to approach the weekend like I always do: enjoy it, work hard, analyse the data and deliver the results. I’m confident that things will go our way and that we will be able to score big points by the end of the weekend!”

Caio Collet: “I’m really looking forward to Budapest. It’s a track that I’ve been to in 2019 and it’s a track that I really like so I am really looking forward to it. I think we had the pace in Austria, but we only came out with a few points, so in Budapest I’m targeting a clean weekend, get points in every race, and fight for pole on Friday like we did in Austria. I want to battle for podiums and wins in the races on Saturday and Sunday. I’m really looking forward to it and, as a team, I think we’ve really put a lot of work in the past few weeks. I’m excited to get back in the car this weekend.”

Tyres:

Hard, C2 (White)

Esteban – 2

Fernando – 2

Medium, C3 (Yellow)

Esteban – 3

Fernando – 3

Soft, C4 (Red)

Esteban – 8

Fernando – 8

Esteban Ocon

Starts – 3

Points – 2

Average Points – 0.66

Fastest Qualifying – 1:15.742 (2020)

Fastest Lap – 1:20.261 (2020)

Best Finish – 9th (2017)

Best Grid Position – 11th (2017)

Fernando Alonso

Starts – 17

Points – 125

Average Points – 7.35

Fastest Qualifying – 1:17.549 (2017)

Fastest Lap – 1:20.182 (2017)

Best Finish – 1st (2003)

Best Grid Position – 1st (2003, 2009)

Renault-powered cars in Hungary

Starts – 136

Wins – 8

Podiums – 29

Pole Positions – 10

Fastest Laps – 12

Total points – 490

Last season’s team result

Ricciardo

Grid – 11th

Race – 8th

Ocon

Grid – 14th

Race – 14th