Williams team hopes to bounce back in Hungary
Williams team knows that the Hungaroring circuit is a real test for both the cars and the drivers, but they are eager to get back on track to try and make up for their poor performance in Germany. Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado expect to face challenges, but both men are confident as they have previously excelled at the Hungarian track.
The Grand Prix takes place only one week after the German Grand Prix, which is an additional challenge for the teams, as explained by Mark Gillan, chief operations engineer at Williams: From a logistical point of view, races that take place one week apart are always a bit more complicated with less time between the two events, especially to solve any potential issues. The field is so tight at the moment that you must ensure you’re extracting the maximum performance from the car – there’s no room for error.
The layout of the Hungaroring requires a lot of downforce, as Mark Gillan notes, who also expects the cars to struggle in the possible Hungarian heatwave: Pirelli is bringing the same compounds as those used in the last race, the mediums and the softs. The track offers relatively low average speeds, with only Monaco and Singapore being slower. This means you run with maximum downforce. Teams will also have to contend with potentially high temperatures, requiring larger cooling ducts.
On the side of the Grove team’s drivers, Pastor Maldonado knows the Hungaroring track well, having won there in Italian Formula 3000 and GP2, so he hopes to achieve a good result this weekend: « The circuit in Hungary is really slow so we will have to adapt our settings for this kind of track but we have shown so far this year that our car was fast on different types of circuits. I’ve won here in the past so I have good memories of the track and the fans always create a great atmosphere so I’m looking forward to this weekend. »
Bruno Senna is not left behind, having notably signed two podiums in GP2 in 2008 on this same circuit. But the Brazilian driver expects to face a challenging race because the Hungarian circuit is a difficult track for drivers: The Hungaroring is one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar. Technically, it’s a real test and it’s quite a slow lap that reminds me a bit of Monaco in some aspects. It’s also physically demanding because temperatures are often high and there’s work to be done behind the wheel, so you get tired quickly. I’ve done well here in the past, especially in GP2 in 2008, so I’m looking forward to this weekend starting.
