Hungarian GP BAR preview

Situated close to the beautiful city of Budapest, the Hungaroring is another relatively tight, twisty circuit possessing few obvious overtaking opportunities. Cars hit a maximum speed of approximately 275 km/h at the end of the pit straight before braking for a sweeping, right-hand corner. As might be expected, this sort of layout means the Hungaroring is very much a high-downforce circuit - in fact, the levels of downforce required exceed those for Monaco. To be competitive, a car must have good front-end grip and be able to change direction quickly, consistently and without understeer. Two major concerns for race engineers are the bumpy nature of the Hungarian track and the likelihood that the surface will be quite dirty when the cars first start running. It takes time before the circuit cleans up and becomes "rubbered in". @!Jacques Villeneuve: @"The Hungaroring is not a very high-speed track; however, the layout is interesting as there is quite a bit of elevation change and the corners are built around the contours of the area. It is a very physical race and a place where it is difficult to get a good, clean lap. It will make for an exciting qualifying session. As far as the team is concerned, if the weekend goes well, we might have a small shot at the podium." @!Steve Farrell, Chief Engineer: @"In many ways, we''ll be returning to a more conventional Formula One circuit in Hungary after the high-speed rigours of Hockenheim. The Hungaroring is a slow-to-medium speed track that requires high levels of downforce and good engine driveability to achieve competitive lap times. It is often very hot in Hungary in August and, combined with the circuit''s low average speeds, it becomes quite a challenge to keep engines and gearboxes running at their optimum temperatures. The BAR Honda chassis will actually be fitted with some one-off components for this race aimed at optimising the performance of the car''s cooling systems. After the setback of Germany, the team will be hoping for a quieter, more productive weekend in Hungary where it can regain the momentum that has been building in the second half of the season. Only a handful of races are left this year and there is no room for mistakes if we are to achieve our goal of being the leading team behind McLaren and Ferrari. We have to perform and score points."