The Hungaroring will be another challenge for Marussia

The Marussia team brought new parts for the MR01 to Silverstone. These were also used last weekend at Hockenheim, and John Booth, the director of the Russian team, is eager to see what they will deliver in Hungary this weekend: « While we aim to resolve the issues Timo encountered with his car, we must not forget the positive direction we seem to take with our development. We have had two races with the new package, and the fact is that it seems to be working consistently and in line with the objectives set compared to our rivals. Hopefully, we can confirm it in Budapest for this third race with this new package. »

Charles Pic also expressed his delight with the recent performances of his car and is eager to see how it will perform on the Hungarian twisty track at the Hungaroring: « I left Hockenheim with a positive feeling. It’s reassuring to see that the new package seems to have consistently worked well at Silverstone and in Germany. For this reason, I’m glad we can go straight to Hungary because everything is fresh in our minds, and we’ll be able to see how the car behaves on a very different type of track. »

John Booth also confides that this Grand Prix, which takes place right after the German Grand Prix, is a logistical challenge for the team: « This week offers a real challenge to the team with only a few days to transport all our equipment across Europe to be ready for Thursday. »

Timo Glock appreciates this Hungarian event, and it’s notably there that he unlocked his podium counter, it was in 2008 driving a Toyota, he finished second behind Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren – who had achieved his first and only, for the moment, victory in F1: « I always felt something special for the Hungarian Grand Prix, to the point of almost feeling like it’s my second home race. I have a lot of fans, especially since my first F1 podium achieved there in 2008. Each time, I look forward to this event because for some reasons, I seem to acclimate very quickly to the track, and I’ve always had good races because of that. »

Charles Pic will also not be left behind, as he knows the track well and believes it will help him: « I really enjoyed the Hungaroring the four times I raced here in other categories and performed well last year in GP2 (2nd in the first race of the weekend), so I’m already comfortable on this circuit, which always helps. »

One of the challenges this weekend will be the heat, as Timo Glock explains: I think the weather will be much hotter – and drier – than in Hockenheim; sometimes the heat can be intense, a bit like in Valencia. Physically, it can be very exhausting, especially if this weather continues throughout the weekend.

Another point to watch will be the track’s evolution, as John Booth explains: « It’s a circuit and a city that we have loved visiting in recent years. As for the sporting challenge, the track is always very dusty due to its infrequent use, so it will take some time to clean it. »

The Hungarian Grand Prix will be the last race before a well-deserved break for all the teams, and this break is eagerly awaited by Timo Glock: « We are already back after Germany, so a tight schedule for the team, which will also have to deal with this heat. We are all looking forward to the summer break, however; we love this race, but it has been a very difficult season so far, and we need to be ready for the second part of the year. »

Charles Pic is also looking forward to this break to recharge and be ready for the final part of the season, which will be complicated with many travels: « Everyone in the team deserves to have a vacation to prepare for the long trips that await us later in the year, so I hope we can have a good race again this weekend. »

Same sentiment from John Booth, who states that this break will allow for an initial assessment before moving on to the last 9 races of the season: « We are looking forward to this last race before the summer break, after which we can focus on the second half of the season. »