Formula 1 – Hungarian Grand Prix Preview and Tips

Hot on the heels of the German Grand Prix is the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring this weekend. This is the final race before the summer break. Following the break is the Belgian Grand Prix on September 2nd. This article provides a preview of the race and takes a look at the betting odds.

Hungary has been a happy hunting ground for McLaren in recent years. They have won four the last five and five of the last seven races here. One year they didn’t win was in 2006, when Jenson Button won for Honda.

2012 Season Results

Below are the 2012 season results to date.

Driver and Constructor standings

There’s no change to the top three, however Alonso has extended his lead over Webber. Vettel’s 3rd place finish in Germany has seen him close the gap on his teammate. Hamilton has slipped from 4th to 5th after failing to finish the German Grand Prix, while Button has moved from 8th to 7th courtesy of his second place finish.

1 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 154
2 Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 120
3 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 110
4 Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) – 98
5 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) – 92
6 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 76
7 Jenson Button (McLaren) – 68
8 Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 61
9 Sergio Perez (Sauber) – 47
10 Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) – 33
11 Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 29
12 Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) – 29
13 Paul di Resta (Force India) – 27
14 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 23
15 Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) – 19
16 Bruno Senna (Williams) – 18

In the constructor standings McLaren have moved up to 3rd courtesy of Button’s 18 points in Germany.

1 Red Bull Racing-Renault – 230
2 Ferrari – 177
3 McLaren-Mercedes – 160
4 Lotus-Renault – 159
5 Mercedes – 105
6 Sauber-Ferrari – 80
7 Williams-Renault – 47
8 Force India-Mercedes – 46
9 STR-Ferrari – 6
10 Caterham-Renault – 0
11 Marussia-Cosworth – 0
12 HRT-Cosworth – 0

Hungaroring Circuit History

The Hungaroring is located in Mogyoród, near Budapest. It has hosted the Hungarian Grand Prix every year since it was added to the racing calendar in 1986. The 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix has the distinction of being the first Formula 1 race to take place behind the Iron Curtain. The 1986 race attracted tremendous local support and it continues to do so to this day.

The circuit is known for being narrow, bumpy and twisty, which can make overtaking difficult. It is not heavily used so there’s usually a lot of dust on the track. Due to the time of year this race is held, the Hungarian Grand Prix is rarely run in wet conditions. After being added to the calendar in 1986, Hungary didn’t witness its first wet race until 2006. Another interesting feature is that the circuit is located in a valley. You can view about 80% of the race track from any given point.

Below are the most recent results in Hungary.

Last Year

Vettel qualified on pole, 0.037 seconds ahead of Hamilton, with Button 3rd, Massa 4th and Alonso 5th.

The drivers all started the race on intermediate tyres, with the track still wet after earlier rain. Vettel retained his lead into the first corner but was hounded by Hamilton in the opening stages. Hamilton eventually overtook Vettel on the 5th lap and started to pull away from the rest of the field. After losing a place early, Alonso managed to take back 5th place before Massa spun out from 4th position, re-joining in 9th.

As the track began to dry out Webber pitted first and was immediately faster on slick tyres. Button changed to slicks one lap later while Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso stayed out one lap longer. Hamilton retained 1st position after he pitted, while Vettel and Alonso lost positions to Button and Webber. The running order at this stage was Hamilton, Button, Vettel, Webber, Alonso. Hamilton went about building a 9 second lead over Button before his teammate starting making ground on him. The front running order remained unchanged after the second set of pit stops.

Alonso made his 3rd pit stop early in an attempt to undercut Webber. He opted for super-soft tyres while Webber pitted a lap later for softs. While Webber emerged behind Alonso his tyre choice meant that if it remained dry, he wouldn’t have to pit again. Button and Vettel also pitted for soft tyres, while Hamilton followed Alonso’s lead and opted for super-softs. A few laps later the circuit was hit by a brief shower, which made the track slippery again. Hamilton spun out, forcing di Resta off the circuit in the process. Hamilton re-joined the race but his mistake enabled Button to catch up. The pair then exchanged places a few times before Hamilton pitted for intermediate tyres. His strategy backfired, however, with the track drying out soon after. Hamilton pitted again for slicks before being given a drive-through penalty for his incident with di Resta. He emerged in 6th position with Button now leading the race.

Button went on to win the race with Vettel 2nd and Alonso 3rd. Hamilton fought his way from 6th to finish the race 4th.

2012 news and Titbits

Vettel criticised Hamilton for overtaking him whilst a lap down last week, calling his move “stupid.” Hamilton was quicker than Vettel at that stage but the German driver had not expected him to attack. Hamilton had lost a lap after suffering a puncture earlier in the race.

Vettel was demoted from 2nd to 5th at the German Grand Prix after receiving a 20-second penalty for leaving the racetrack to overtake Button on the penultimate lap.

Given he has only 23 points to Alonso’s 154, Massa must be feeling the pressure to improve his form. No other team has such contrast in their drivers’ points. Alonso has been complaining about the car’s pace all season, leading many to believe that much of the discrepancy between his and Massa’s performance has been down to Alonso’s brilliance.

Formula 1 officials are looking to introduce a rule change to outlaw controversial engine settings on the Red Bull cars. The FIA is aiming to clarify the rules prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix. The issue concerns the computer settings that control the amount of torque delivered by the engine in various conditions. Other teams are concerned that Red Bull are using the system a form of traction control.

Jenson Button is pleased with the car’s current performance after McLaren brought a number of upgrades to Germany last week. “We’re right up there with Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of speed,” he said. “If we can sort out qualifying we have a really good chance of winning races.”

Despite winning in Germany, Alonso doesn’t feel Ferrari have the fastest car. After the race he said: “We saw again today that we are still not the quickest.” Regarding Alonso’s comments, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali agreed, saying: “It’s true. If we did, it would be easier to win… We need to improve the car. We need to make sure our car is good in all the different conditions – wet, dry, different kind of tyres and so on. It is such a tight championship you need to make sure you can develop the car race by race.”

Hungarian Grand Prix Preview

Unlike with many other circuits, winning pole position has not translated to race success in recent years. In fact, in the last seven years no driver has won in Hungary from pole. In that time the winners had qualified 2nd three times, 3rd once, 4th twice and 14th once (in wet conditions).

Most drivers opted for three pit stops last year, however one of those stops was to change from intermediates to slicks. Kamui Kobayashi opted for a tyre-saving strategy with one less pit stop last year, however the strategy didn’t pay off and he finished outside the points.

When asked about Hungary, Red Bull driver Mark Webber said: “The Hungaroring is a good little venue and we’ve had some good races there in the past. Obviously overtaking has not been easy on that circuit, but it will be interesting to see how the cars perform there as it’s a hot race. The middle sector is very, very busy and you need to have a good balance over the top of the hill.” When describing the circuit teammate Sebastian Vettel said: “The track itself is one of the slowest on the calendar, but as a driver you shouldn’t underestimate it, as there are a lot of opportunities to make mistakes. It can be very hot and that means the track can be very demanding physically. In addition, the surface has many bumps which shake you around a lot.”

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has described the Hungaroring as being “like a street circuit but on a normal track because of the many tight and twisty turns and not so many straights.”

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery has said: “Hungary will provide a very stark contrast to the circuits that we have just come from, being the slowest permanent track on the calendar. This does not make it any less demanding on the tyres though: in fact a twisty and slippery circuit will often put more heat through the tyre than a fast and flowing layout as the tyre is moving around more – particularly when the ambient temperatures are high. Having said that, in Hungary last year we saw some wet weather, so it’s important not to make any assumptions. Consequently, we are still lacking some information about the performance of our slick tyres under race conditions at the Hungaroring. Balancing the demands of speed and durability will be key to getting the most out of the tyres in Hungary, in order to keep degradation under control. Overtaking is traditionally difficult, so the drivers have an opportunity to use strategy in order to gain track position. Because of this, the work done in free practice will be vital when it comes to preparing the race strategy: an opportunity that has been denied to the teams recently because of bad weather in the build-up to the last two Grands Prix.”

Hungarian Grand Prix Betting

Below are the latest odds, subject to change.

Alonso continues to be Mr Consistent, with five podium places in the last six races. Last week I wrote that the 1.75 odds on him to be on the podium in Germany seem fair value, and I feel the same way about the 1.62 odds (Luxbet) this weekend.

Vettel has been on pole in the last two races in Hungary. He went on to finish 3rd in 2010 and 2nd in 2011. Red Bull have qualified well on the slower circuits this year, which justifies the low 3.00 odds (Luxbet) on Vettel to make it a third consecutive pole at the Hungaroring.

Betfair users should note that you can wager on the race leader after the first lap. The Ferrari is a fast starting car so if Alonso is on pole then he’s usually a good value wager to retain his lead after the first lap. Webber doesn’t have a reputation for being a fast starter and Hamilton has been slow off the mark in a number of races this year, so if either of them qualify on pole with Alonso 2nd, then you may find good value in backing Alonso to move up a spot during the first lap. If you only wager on this market then you can simply watch the first lap and then switch over to the Olympics for the rest of the evening!