Mercedes GP Petronas Hungaroring preview

2010 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX BUDAPEST 30 JULY - 1 AUGUST

The third set of the 2010 season's back-to-back races continues this weekend in Budapest with the Hungarian Grand Prix just one week after the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. Taking place at the Hungaroring, located 19kms from the capital, the circuit has hosted the race since  1986 and is one of the most technically demanding on the calendar.

Mercedes-Benz Stats (including customer teams)

                    Hungarian GP
Total (since 1954)   
GP Starts                 16
294   
Wins                    6 (1999, 2000, 05, 07, 08, 09)
81   
Podiums                12
229   
Points Scoring Positions    22
418   
GP Points                 126
2463   
Fastest Laps             4
85   
Pole Positions             5
81   

Hungaroring Stats

Circuit Length:    4.381 km   
Race Distance:    306.630 km   
Number of Laps:    70   

Full Throttle:    53%   
Brake Wear:        High   
Tyre Compounds:    Super Soft/Medium   
Downforce Level:    High 9/10   
Tyre Usage:        Medium    
Average Speed:    193kph (120mph)   


NICO ROSBERG

"Budapest is a great city and the atmosphere there and at the track over the race weekend is very vibrant so I always enjoy visiting. The Hungaroring is one of those tracks that provides a real technical challenge and it is good fun to drive. Overtaking is difficult there so qualifying is really important and you need to start from as high up the grid as possible.

Qualifying hasn't been our strong point recently so we will be working hard on our preparations over the weekend to give us the best chance in the race. I had a strong weekend in Hungary last year, finishing in fourth place, and it would be nice to be competing towards the front again this time around."


MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

"The German Grand Prix last weekend was clearly disappointing for us but we have seen a variety of performances from our team over the past few races. With this in mind, I will still go to Hungary with a positive feeling. It is clear that we need to understand our car better, and the track in Budapest plus more time to evaluate our upgrades should help us in that respect.

As I said after the last race, we have to remain calm, look into all the details and analyse our performance in order to learn as much as possible from such weekends. That is the way we have to go in order to improve our situation which may already be possible this coming weekend in Hungary."
 


ROSS BRAWN

"The Hungarian Grand Prix will be the conclusion to an extremely busy period for the team following two of our home races taking place this month at Silverstone and Hockenheim. The last race weekend in Germany was challenging for us, particularly following the podium finish at Silverstone, and we were disappointed not to be competing further up the field.

The team is doing a good job operationally but we need to find more pace from the car and we continue to work very hard to achieve this. Hungary is a technically demanding circuit and should be a good proving ground for our latest upgrades, providing further invaluable track testing time, as we work to find the optimum set-up.

Our two-week factory shutdown just after the race will be a well-deserved rest for our employees and the chance to recharge their batteries before the busy final third of the season."


NORBERT HAUG

"The Hungaroring circuit near Budapest is very different to that of the last race in Germany with a slow and twisty layout requiring maximum downforce. One weekend after the home race of Mercedes-Benz, our team wants to achieve a better result than we managed at the Hockenheimring."



- Wolfgang Schattling, Nicola Armstrong, Sabine Kehm-