Introduction:

It’s off to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix. After Lewis Hamilton coasted to victory at a damp Silverstone the championship battle is nicely poised, with only a point between Hamilton and Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. The rest of the field may be falling off the pace in the drivers’ championship, but there is plenty of interest in the constructor’s championship, with Red Bull right on the Prancing Horse’s tail, and Force India breathing down Williams necks.

Lewis Hamilton ties Michael Schumacher for the most victories around the Hungaroring, with 4 wins each, while Nico Rosberg has yet to taste victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Last year’s race saw Mercedes lock out the front row of the grid, but fail to convert in the race. Both Ferrari’s made good starts to leap frog the slower starting Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton had a bad day at the office, dropping to fourth into Turn 1 and then going off at Turn 6 on the opening lap and dropping down the field. Lewis fought back and managed to recover to fourth just behind Rosberg when the safety car came out due to a wing failure on Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India. On the restart from the safety car however Daniel Ricciardo managed to get his Red Bull around the outside of Hamilton into Turn 1, and Lewis got his braking wrong and damaged his front wing as he pushed the Red Bull off the track, forcing Lewis back to the pits for a new front wing and also handing him a drive through penalty later on for causing a collision. Rosberg, who simply didn’t seem to have the pace to match the Ferrari’s prior to the safety car period, was now tucked up behind race leader Sebastian Vettel as the unfortunate Kimi Raikkonen had to retire from second with an engine failure. Ricciardo was also flying however, and Rosberg’s race was ruined as he suffered a puncture from contact with Ricciardo, the Red Bull coming from a long way back to lunge past the Mercedes into Turn 1. Ricciardo was braking way too late and ran deep past Rosberg into the outside of the corner, but Rosberg came back across him too sharply to retake position on the outside of Turn 1, with Ricciardo’s front wing clipping the rear tyre of Mercedes. Both cars would have to pit as Ricciardo needed to replace his damaged wing, leaving Vettel to coast serenely to victory for Ferrari, with Daniel Kvyat benefitting from the incidents in front to emerge with his first ever podium finish in second place and Ricciardo recovering to third. Hamilton recovered to 6^th, with Rosberg limping home in 8^th, left to rue a perfect chance to gain points on his championship rival thrown away again due to poor awareness in a battle for track position.

 

History

The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held back in 1936 on a circuit through Nepliget Park in Budapest, the race being won by the great Tazio Nuvolari in an Alfa Romeo entered by Scuderia Ferrari.

The Hungarian Grand Prix was added to the Formula One Championship calendar in 1986 (Nelson Piquet winning for Williams), and has been a permanent fixture ever since, providing many memorable races despite, or thanks to, it’s tight layout!

The track has provided 4 drivers with their first Grand Prix Victory. Damon Hill earned his first victory for Williams in 1993, while Fernando Alonso got his breakthrough win here for Renault in 2003. Jenson Button’s long awaited first victory came here for Honda after a wet race in 2006, and Heikki Kovalainen became the last driver to take his maiden victory here with McLaren in 2008.

The Hungarian Grand Prix has witnessed the World Drivers Champion crowned here twice. Nigel Mansell wrapping up his title for Williams in 1992, and Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher making it mathematically impossible for anyone to catch him here in 2001.

The track also witnessed the first ever Grand Prix victory for an F1 car equipped with KERS, when Lewis Hamilton took victory for McLaren in 2009.

The track has seen few modifications from the original layout used in 1986.

There have been two significant changes to the track layout.

The first was in­ 1989, when the chicane at Turn 3 was removed, replaced with a flowing corner from the entry to the old chicane and re-joining on the exit of the old chicane onto the straight heading to Turn 4.

The second major change came about in 2003, when the first and final corners were altered, lengthening the start/finish straight by some 200m and tightening the first corner in an attempt to increase overtaking opportunities.

Circuit Characteristics

The Hungaroring is a tight and twisty 4.3 km track, known for being both bumpy and dusty. The track is carved into a natural bowl, allowing the wind around the circuit to blow dust onto the track. This provides it with a modest level of elevation change. The highest point is on the main straight from where the track runs downhill from Turn 1 and 2 to the lowest point of the track after Turn 3, some 34.6 meters below, before starting to climb back up again into Turn 4. Over the winter the organizers have resurfaced the track, laying a new layer of asphalt.

It has a combination of low and medium speed corners blending into each other that make it one of the toughest on the calendar for brakes despite the lack of significant braking loads, as there is little time for the brakes to cool in the short gaps between the 14 corners on the circuit.

The track itself is low grip in nature, and you can expect to see a lot of dust off line which can punish drivers attempting to find a way past on the narrow track.

Due to the high summer temperatures experienced in Budapest, Pirelli will not be bringing the Ultra-Soft tyre, with the Super Soft, Soft and Medium the available compounds. Tyre performance has tended to play a big role at the track, and getting to grips with the different compounds in free practice will be critical for the teams. The hot summer weather usually experienced makes this a physically demanding race for the drivers. While the Hungarian Grand Prix did not see a wet race until 2006, recent years have seen a number of races affected by showers, so everyone will need to have a Plan B prepared just in case!

The track is one of the slowest on the calendar and will place a premium on aerodynamic performance and good mechanical grip, with teams running a Monaco style high downforce configuration.

From the grid there is a long drag down into Turn 1, giving plenty of scope for drivers to attempt to gain places. Turn 1 is a wide sweeping right hander, bending down into a short run into Turn 2. Turn 1 at the end of the start finish straight (which is the first DRS activation zone) will be the most obvious spot to attempt an overtaking manoeuvre during the race. The pit exit is also just before the entry to Turn 1, and in 2012 saw excitement as Kimi Raikkonen exited from his pit stop arrived alongside his oncoming Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean, with Kimi showing no mercy in running the sister Lotus wide into Turn 1 and off the track on the exit of the turn to take 2^nd position. So prepare for plenty of action both at the start and during the race. Exiting Turn 1 the drivers rush downhill with the second DRS activation zone leading into Turn 2, a long winding left hander. This was where Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) went around the outside of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) to take second position on his way to victory in 2014. From here the cars continue on downhill a short burst into the right hander at Turn 3. The cars will take plenty of kerb at the exit of Turn 3 to get as fast an exit as they can onto the long (by Hungaroring standards!) straight heading back uphill into the fast left hander Turn 4. This can be another overtaking opportunity, as witnessed with Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) going around the outside of Jean-Eric Vergne (Torro Rosso) in 2014, as well as a wonderfully judged move on the outside (later penalised for exceeding track limits) by Romain Grosjean (Lotus) on Massa (Ferrari) in 2013. Taking plenty of kerb on the exit of Turn 4 the cars launch into Turn 5, a long winding right hander. From there the cars dash into Turn 6/7, a right left chicane that always invites cars to have a go, even if there is not enough room. Exiting Turn 7 on the kerbs is another quick burst up to Turn 8, a left hander leading into a right hander Turn 9. Again on the kerbs the cars exit Turn 9 and wind left around the curve of Turn 10 before braking into Turn 11, a right hander that leads onto another short straight. At the end of the straight is the right hander Turn 12, an opportunistic overtaking spot at best (as Paul Di Resta will attest, having seen his Force India barged wide off the track here by Pastor Maldonado’s Williams in 2012!). Exiting Turn 12 there is yet another short blast into the long slow right hander at Turn 13, winding around and then snaking back past the pit entrance and DRS detection point into the final bend, the long right hander Turn 14 leading back onto the start finish straight to complete the lap.

 

TYRES WITH PIRELLI:

Following the flat-out straights and fast corners of Silverstone is the tight and twisty Hungaroring: two circuits that could not be any more different. The medium, soft and supersoft tyres have been nominated for Hungary: statistically the most popular combination of the year so far, which was last used in Baku. The Hungaroring has been described as being like an oversized go-kart track, and adding to the challenge of the first circuit ever to stage a grand prix behind the Iron Curtain exactly 30 years ago are weather conditions that can range from extremely hot (a common occurrence) to rain (which was the case two years ago, as well as 2011).

 

THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW:

There’s only one real straight on the Hungaroring, which means tyres are constantly working.

It’s a well-balanced track, with traction, braking and lateral energy demands roughly equal.

High temperatures make thermal degradation a factor.

The emphasis is on mechanical grip, as a low average speed means there is little downforce.

Drivers describe the Hungaroring as one of the year’s most physically demanding circuits.

Hungary starts another back-to-back weekend, with the teams then going straight to Germany.

 

THE THREE NOMINATED COMPOUNDS:

White medium: a mandatory set that must be available for the race, low working range.

Yellow soft: another mandatory set whose versatility will make it a popular race tyre.

Red supersoft: used for qualifying but it’s not yet clear how much they will figure in the race.

 

HOW IT WAS A YEAR AGO:         

Incidents and safety cars influenced strategy last year. Race winner Sebastian Vettel stopped twice: starting on soft, completing a middle stint again on soft, then finishing on medium.

Best alternative strategy: Nico Rosberg would have finished second with a one-stopper (soft- medium) but lost time right at the end of the race following contact with another competitor.

PAUL HEMBERY, PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR:                      

“Hungary provides a very different type of challenge to what we’ve seen at Silverstone, but some of the teams used the recent Silverstone test to try out a few ideas that could be relevant to the Hungaroring, so it will be interesting to see what effect this has. The track has been completely resurfaced, and we saw in Austria that this had quite a profound influence as well: we will need to see if this is case in Hungary too, so free practice will be very important.”

WHAT’S NEW?  

The track has been entirely resurfaced and the circuit infrastructure upgraded this year.

There is also some new kerbing and run-off areas while the effect of the resurfacing has additionally been to smooth out some of the bumps. This should culminate in faster lap times.

 

OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE CAUGHT OUR EYE RECENTLY:

Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull have all gone for different tyre choices in Hungary.

Pirelli had a successful test at Silverstone following the British Grand Prix with prototype 2017 construction and compound concepts in a 2016 tyre size, on a 2014 Mercedes.

 

Form Guide:

Lewis Hamilton certainly will start the weekend as red hot favourite. He has the momentum over team mate Nico Rosberg, and has always looked fast around the Hungaroring. If Rosberg is to have any hope of winning a first world championship he needs to arrest his recent slump, but Hungary has not been a happy hunting ground for him. Rosberg’s best hope might be to make a better start than Hamilton and see Lewis boxed in at the tight circuit behind a slower car. Of course, that’s all assuming Mercedes start at the front. Red Bull looked mightily impressive around Silverstone, and the tight nature of the track should see them as genuine contenders for the race. Max Verstappen has been showing up Daniel Ricciardo as of late, and Ricciardo will be desperate to produce a race like his masterful drive to victory in 2014 to regain the upper hand on Max. Ferrari are floundering, and look to be in a dogfight with Reb Bull to simply take second in the Constructors Championship, and will be hoping for the traditional hot summer temperatures in Hungary, which should allow them perform at a high level. Further back, Williams failed miserably to produce at the last 2 races, venues which had looked to be their best hope for success this season. Force India are pushing on strong, and the two teams look to be locked in a battle for fourth place in the Constructors Championship. That is assuming McLaren don’t come good over the second half of the season, but while seeing McLaren mount a challenge for anything other than sixth place ahead of Torro Rosso seems unlikely, Hungary should provide their best opportunity for success, and with a happy sounding Alonso singing the teams praises after a pointless outing in Silverstone, we should at least expect to see the McLarens getting in among the points scorers. For Torro Rosso, the track represents a chance to grab some points before they inevitably slide down the order over the second half of the season as a result of using year old Ferrari engines.

 

Memorable Moments:

1986 – A race long duel between Brasil’s Piquet and Senna saw Piquet come out on top

Senna (Lotus) started from pole, with Piquet (Williams) alongside. Senna got away well, with a fast starting Nigel Mansell (Williams) coming through from fourth to pass Piquet for second into the first corner.Piquet got past Mansell into the first corner at the start of the third lap, and clearly looked to have a pace advantage over Senna, steadily reeling Senna in at about half a second a lap, catching him as they started lap 9.Over the next few laps Piquet shadowed Senna, looking for a place to pass, but on the tight circuit Turn 1 represented the best opportunity.Senna held the inside line into Turn 1 on lap 10, and on lap 11 Senna had some breathing space, Piquet losing contact as they came upon a fleet of marshals trying to pull Riccado Patrese’s Brabham off the track. On lap 12 however Piquet made it stick, initially looking like he was going to follow Senna before diving down the inside and swooping past Senna, who seemed to be caught by surprise with Piquet coming from so far back. Piquet proceeded to pull away and build a gap, with the lead going out as far as 8 seconds. But Piquet had been two hard on his tyres, and had to pit first. Senna continued on, having managed to extend the life of his tyres, setting a series of fastest to pull away and build a gap big enough to allow him re-join from his pit stop with a 7 second cushion over Piquet. The gap from Senna to Piquet remained over the following laps, with Senna seeming on course for victory. But the sight of Nigel Mansell unlapping himself into Turn 1 at the start of lap 50 shortly after Senna passed him indicated Senna was struggling. Senna started to lose over a second a lap to Piquet, and with 27 laps to go it seemed inevitable that Piquet would surely pass Senna. Coming up to complete lap 53 Piquet exited the final corner glued to Senna’s tail. Senna moved to the middle of the track to cover the inside line and force Piquet to go around the outside into Turn 1. Piquet surged left of Senna, putting his outside wheels over the white line on the straight as he dived around Senna, locking his brakes hard and screeching into a slide around the outside of the corner in front of Senna. A thrilling pass, and now Piquet was clear. Senna struggled to stay within sight, but eventually dropped back, and Piquet recorded the victory.

 

1989 – A charging victory for Nigel Mansell.

Having struggled on the qualifying tyre over the weekend, Ferrari’s Mansell actually set his qualifying time on Saturday using a race spec Goodyear tyre, but was down in a lowly 12th spot on the grid. With the track renowned as being difficult to overtake, Mansell had it all to do on Sunday. With a good race setup from his work on the race tyre, Mansell would be fast, but how far could he progress on the tight Hungaroring track? Mansell made an aggressive start, switching from his inside grid position to the outside of the track into turn 1, and going all the way around the outside he emerged in 8th position coming out of the first corner. At the front, Patrese (Williams) from pole squeezed Senna (McLaren) into the first corner and held station at the front, while Alex Caffi, who had a terrific qualifying performance in his Pirelli shod Dallara to take 3rd on the grid, was quickly passed by Mansell’s Ferrari teammate Berger and Prost in the second McLaren, but from there managed to hold a train of cars behind him. Allesandro Naninni(Benneton) pitted from 7th on lap 12, and Mansell got past Thierry Boutsen (Williams) on lap 20 to take 6th. 6th became 5th when Mansell managed to pass Caffi on lap 22, with Mansell now 20 seconds back on the leaders, all bottled up behind Patrese’s Williams. In clear air Mansell began to push, catching the leading train. Both Ferrari’s were on the softer option Goodyear tyre, intending to make a single stop to replace them during the race, while the McLarens were on the harder. Mansell had good fortune when teammate Berger, who had been running 3rd stopped on lap 29 to swap tyres. Berger dropped behind Mansell, now up to 4th. Upon inspecting Berger’s tyres Ferrari realised the softer Goodyear tyre would be able to complete a race distance, so Mansell would not have to stop! Mansell pressed on, and caught and passed Prost for 3rd on lap 41, and was now right behind Senna, who was still stuck behind Patrese, who had been holding Senna comfortably all race. But Patrese would suffer a damaged radiator, and Senna flew past on the straight on lap 52. Mansell followed at the next corner, as the unfortunate Patrese dropped down the field and retired. Mansell was now all over the back of Senna trying to take the lead, but while Mansell clearly had the pace advantage over the lap the McLaren had the grunt on the straights with its Honda engine pulling Senna clear, and a pass look unlikely. However as Senna came upon Stefan Johansson’s Onyx on lap 58 the race turned on its head. Johansson was struggling with gearbox problems, and Senna lost momentum as he pulled too close to the ailing Onyx and had to back off to flick around Johansson. Mansell didn’t hesitate and seized the opportunity, flinging his Ferrari sideways to the outside of the track and passing by Senna as Senna passed Johansson! Senna tried to tuck in behind Mansell, but the Ferrari was off through the twisty track and pulled clear, heading to a famous victory.

1997 – So close for Damon Hill

Damon Hill was the reigning world champion in 1997, but arrived at the Hungarian grand prix with only a single point to his name. Hill had been deemed surplus to requirements by the Williams team with which he won the title, and left to pick up a seat where he could for 1997. Hill landed at Arrows, a team who had never won a Grand Prix and who had placed a lowly 9^th in the 1996 constructors championship with a single point (the team were named Footwork in 1996). For 1997 things didn’t look much better, with the Arrows looking underpowered and unreliable. While Hill had managed a single point in Britain, the stars would almost align in Hungary for a sensational result, Hill coming oh so close to what would have been an unbelievable victory. The story behind this opportunity was primarily tyres. Arrows tyre supplier Bridgestone had entered F1 in 1997, but none of the top teams was taking a chance with them yet. In Hungary, their tyre proved to be the difference in the searing heat. The track layout helped to mask the deficiencies in the Arrows car as well, namely the lack of out and out horsepower. After qualifying an amazing third, behind title chasers Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) and Jacques Villeneuve (Williams), Hill made a good start to pass his former teammate Villeneuve for second going into the first corner. He was now behind only old rival Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari. Schumacher led the opening laps, but his Goodyear tyres were struggling, and Hill latched onto his tail. At the start of lap 11 Hill took his chance, diving for the inside going into turn 1. Schumacher (as always) didn’t make it easy for Damon, but Hill had nothing to lose, not being involved in the title fight, and made the move stick. Schumacher slid back struggling with his tyres, while the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen retired early with a hydraulics failure. Heinz Harald Frentzen, the man who had replaced world champion Hill at Williams, had looked like he could challenge for victory having chosen to run on the harder Goodyear compound for the race. He took the lead when Hill pitted, and looked to build a gap to retain the lead after his stop, but as he pushed on lap 29 flames leapt from the back of his Williams, and when he pulled into the pits his car was retired with a fuel leak. Hill was back in front, and pulled clear. However the dream was not to be, disaster striking 3 laps from the finish as Hill hit trouble as a hydraulics problem left him unable to change gear and caused the throttle to fail. He had a lead of over half a minute on Villeneuve at that stage, and kept plodding on, desperate to make the finish, as lapped cars zipped past him. Hill dropped huge chunks of time over the next two laps, but arrived at the start of the last lap still in the lead. Villenueve though flew past Hill on the last lap to seize the win, taking to the grass in a plume of dust to pass him as Hill shook his Arrows from side to side in an attempt to get it to the finish line. Hill would manage to limp home in second place, agonizingly close to a sensational result. It was a missed opportunity, with Hill failing to score any more points over the rest of the season, and Arrows never registering a single Grand Prix victory.

2006 – Jenson Button’s breakthrough win in an amazing rain affected race.

While every previous edition of the Hungarian Grand Prix was staged in hot and dry conditions, this year was cold and wet. Conditions were very slippy, with Pedro de la Rossa managing to spin and recover his McLaren on the warm up lap. Championship protagonists Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) had both been handed penalties in qualifying for overtaking under yellow/red flags and would be starting from midfield (Alonso in 15th and Schumacher in 11th). Jenson Button, still without a Grand Prix victory to his name, was also struck with a penalty for an engine change to his Honda, and he started down in 14th. At the start Kimi Raikkonen led away from pole in his McLaren. But behind both Schumacher and Alonso were in no mood to mess around, both producing stellar opening laps. By the end of lap one Schumacher was up to fourth and Alonso up to sixth. Schumacher made a good start and was more confident than those around him going deep into the outside of Turn 1 , climbing to 6th by the time the cars turned into the first corner. He was 5th a few corners later, taking advantage of Trulli’s Renault losing momentum trying to outmuscle Massa in the Ferrari, with Massa then allowing his team leader through into 4th. Championship leader Alonso meanwhile produced the kind of lap that fits into discussions of the greatest lap ever. With a vacant grid position ahead of him (left by Christian Klein’s Red Bull starting from the pit lane) Alonso pulled away cleanly at start, passing Button in the first phase of acceleration and clearing Trulli’s Toyota on the run down to Turn 1. Alonso tried for the outside on the approach, but was left with no room, putting a wheel over the white lines as David Coulthard’s Red Bull came across the track to deny him space. Alonso had to back off and tuck in behind Coulthard, now in 12th as he tried to hang around the outside of turn 1, managing to get around Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher. As Alonso (now 11th) dragged down to turn 2 he braked later than Mark Webber’s Williams, driving around him into 10th. Next up was the BMW-Sauber cars of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, separated by David Coulthard’s Red Bull. Coming out of Turn 4 Alonso had better traction and took Heidfeld heading into Turn 5, continuing around the outside to pass Coulthard. Alonso then tailed Kubica, getting a better run out of Turn 8 and diving up the inside into Turn 9. Alonso, now in 7th, then caught Massa, before going the long way around the outside of Massa in Turn 13, gaining the inside line for the last bend and squeezing ahead as he exited onto the main straight in 6th. What a lap!!

On lap 2 Alonso got past team mate Fisichella, while Button took Heidfeld as Kubica span down the order. By lap 3 Button was up to 8th past Coulthard.

The cold conditions would prove to favour the runners on Michelin tyres, with the Bridgestone shod cars (mainly Ferrari and Toyota) struggling on the wet track. This was highlighted by the manner in which Alonso, who was all over the back of Schumacher, serenely swept around the outside of his title rival at Turn 5 to take fourth place lap 4. Raikkonen was edging away up front, with teammate Pedro de la Rossa passing Honda’s Barrichello for second. This prompted Barrichello, who had started on full wet tyres, to come in to put on intermediates, the extra stop dropping him down the field and effectively removing him from contention for the race win.

Button meanwhile continued to progress, passing first Massa, then Fisichella and finally Schumacher to move up to 4th position by lap 7. Alonso, who had started the race on a heavier fuel load was now in third, and was promoted to first when the McLarens pitted. The race seemed to be falling into Alonso’s hands at this stage, as he stayed on track and built a healthy lead while the others pitted, only to see the safety car come out when Kimi Raikkonen smashed into the back of and climbed up and over Liuzzi’s Toro Rosso on lap 25 while coming up to lap him. Alonso now led from Button as de la Rossa dived into the pits. Alonso pitted for dry tyres on lap 51 to hand the lead back to Button (still on intermediate tyres), but Alonso’s hopes of regaining the lead were dashed when a wheel was not attached properly at the stop. Alonso wobbled around the first corner before sliding off the track and into the barriers at Turn 2. Button had time to stop for dry tyres and continue to lead comfortably. Schumacher climbed to second as the others pitted for dry tyres. Schumacher, who had already had to change front wing following a coming together with Fisichella earlier in the race as Fisichellla passed him into Turn 1, was trying to hang on to position in the drying conditions, staying out on his worn intermediates Bridgestones, but by the end of the race was much slower than the cars behind him.He lost out first to de la Rossa and then with 3 laps to go to Heidfeld, with Schumacher clattering into Heidfeld as he attempted to keep position, damaging his suspension and retiring, only to gain 8th place after the race as Kubica was disqualified for being underweight and none of the remaining cars made it as far as Schumacher! Button meanwhile kept his cool to bring the car home and record his first ever Grand Prix Victory to end a sensational race.

 

Support Races

GP2, GP3 and the Porsche Supercup will once again provide the supporting entertainment.

In GP2, we are still waiting for a driver to take a hold of the championship, with Pierre Gasly finally producing the goods in Silverstone to become the fifth different feature race winner in 5 attempts. Oliver Rowland grabbed a pair of third places in Britain and has moved into the championship lead despite not reaching the top of the podium yet this season, but his consistency in a hit and miss season sees him a point clear of Antonio Giovinazzi. Gasly, who drove for Reb Bull in the post Grand Prix Silverstone F1 test session, is now in 3^rd position in the championship and might still have time to convince Red Bull that he deserves a 2017 Torro Rosso seat at the expense of Daniil Kvyat, but only a strong sequence of wins will be enough to impress the Red Bull hierarchy. Last year’s feature race winner Alex Lynn was on display for Williams in the post Silverstone test, and a repeat victory would be the ideal way for him to push his claim for promotion. Jordan King will go into the Hungarian race in fine form, fresh from testing for Manor at Silverstone after taking his second sprint race victory in a row in Britain . Meanwhile Sergey Sirotkin, who represented Renault at the F1 test, is still looking to translate potential into results, after another disastrous weekend in Britain saw him come away with no points.

In GP3, Charles Leclerc, who added an outing for Ferrari at the post Silverstone test to his FP1 outing for Haas, continues to lead the championship, but his lead has been trimmed to just 2 points over his team mate Alexander Albon. Albon took pole and kept the charging Leclerc (who had to start 7^th after a grid penalty) at bay to win the feature race and move into the championship lead, but Leclerc made it onto the podium in the sprint race to retake series lead. Antonio Fuoco won his first GP3 race in the sprint, mastering the conditions to keep himself in the championship hunt in 3^rd place overall. American teenager Santino Ferucci picked up his first points in the sprint race in Britain before getting to sample a Haas during the F1 test, and will looking to build on this as he looks to establish a claim to represent the USA in F1 someday.

In the Porsche Supercup, Sven Muller took his second consecutive victory in a gripping race affected by the wet track in Britain. Polesitter Mathieu Jaminet, who finished second, continues to lead the championship and will be desperate to record his first victory of the season in Hungary. The title is a 3 way battle, with the winner of the opening two rounds Matteo Cairoli lying third after coming home third in Britain.

Previous Results:

Year	Winner	Constructor
2015	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
2014	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull-Renault
2013	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
2012	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
2011	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes
2010	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault
2009	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
2008	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
2007	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
2006	Jenson Button	Honda
2005	Kimi Raikkonen	McLaren-Mercedes