Hungarian GP Prost preview

After the action-packed German Grand Prix in Hockenheim at the end of July, the Prost Acer Team, and especially Luciano Burti, enjoyed a well deserved three-week break as well as the other eleven Formula One teams. Luciano rested in his Brazilian home after his impressive crash at the start of the Hockenheim race. Fortunately, he escaped uninjured but with a strong pain in his left arm, from which he has now fully recovered. For the rest of the team, it has been a very active period which resulted in Heinz-Harald Frentzen joining Prost Acer for the last five races of the season. The whole team is delighted to welcome him and proud to start working with a driver of his stature. Everyone is now looking forward to being at the track again next Friday for the 13th round of the 2001 F1 World Championship which will take place at the Hungaroring, nearby the beautiful city of Budapest.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen
"These are totally new circumstances for me : I have never experienced a team change during the season, with all the organisation and details required to adapt as quickly as possible to a new car. I spent a lot of time before the Hungarian race to get to know the people I now work with, and to understand my new environment as much and as quickly as possible in a very short period of time... What a challenge ! I am really looking forward to it. Because it is not easy, it is even more exciting and I will do my best to fit in the team as soon as possible."

Henri Durand; Prost Grand Prix Technical Director :
"The Hungaroring is a circuit which offers a mixture of medium and low speed corners and traditionally requires the maximum amount of downforce, irrespective of drag. The maximum speed achieved is about 290km/h. The main characteristics of the track will force us to fight with some strong understeer and tires will as usual play a predominant role in the overall level of performance. We trust Michelin will offer a good product adapted to this specific track and its atmospheric conditions usually very hot and dry in this period. On our side, we have worked on various new aerodynamic components aimed at increasing both downforce level and efficiency for the Hungarian track. Obviously the most important new element this week-end will be the arrival of Heinz-Harald Frentzen in our team who will work with us for the first time on a Grand Prix. We had a quick shakedown test in Magny-Cours last week and the first impression and feedback we got from Heinz-Harald was very positive. He is a driver with an impressive list of achievements which commands a lot of respect. His experience and maturity make us even more keen to work with him. This new association refreshes our team’s motivation, and we all look forward to achieve some strong results together with Heinz-Harald and Luciano, in order to improve our position in the World Championship."

-Prost