Alpine Academy Hungaroring races preview

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
Hungaroring, Budapest
29-31 July 2022

Alpine Academy’s Jack Doohan, Olli Caldwell, Victor Martins and Caio Collet plus Affiliate Driver Abbi Pulling and coach Alice Powell are all in action at the Hungaroring this weekend as the Formula 1 support card season approaches its summer break.



In FIA Formula 2, Jack is focused on continuing a strong run of form, which has seen him close in on the top five of the Championship. After narrowly missing out on a Feature Race podium in France, the Australian is determined to end a positive first half of his rookie season on a bright note. Meanwhile, Briton Olli is aiming to return to the points after showing strong speed across the last two rounds in Austria and France with an emphasis on an improved qualifying performance central to his weekend ambitions.



FIA Formula 3 is back in Budapest this weekend as Victor looks to maintain his Championship lead. Last time out in Austria earlier in July, Victor added a fifth podium of the season after finishing second in the Feature Race. Caio continues to edge closer to the top five of the Championship with his second place in the Sprint Race in Austria bringing a second rostrum of the year to his tally.



W Series is also on this weekend’s undercard with both Abbi and Alice hungry to return to the podium places after a challenging outing in France last weekend. Abbi finished a battling ninth after qualifying twelfth and remains second in the Championship, while mentor Alice climbed from eleventh on the grid to a strong fifth place at the chequered flag.



Jack Doohan: “I’m looking forward to this weekend in Budapest, as it’s always great having back-to-back rounds. Hopefully we will some better results as we unfortunately didn’t extract the maximum from our strong potential last weekend in France. I really like the Hungaroring – it’s tight and twisty and it is great to drive. It looks like it will be another very hot weekend, but hopefully it should be good fun before the summer break. I can’t wait to hit the track on Thursday!”



Olli Caldwell: “We’re heading to Budapest this weekend straight after racing at Circuit Paul Ricard where we learnt a lot. There were a lot of positives that I took away from the weekend. I am looking forward to going back to Budapest - a track I know well. Even though it is a difficult track to overtake, I am hoping to maximise qualifying and improve on the things we have just learnt.”



Victor Martins: “I’m feeling ready for the final round of the Championship before the summer break, and it is important to get a good result. I will put in place everything we have learnt from Silverstone and Austria where we had good pace in qualifying and we were good in the races. I hope I can get pole position this weekend as we haven’t had one this season! A win in the Feature Race and good points in the Sprint Race is our target. We will take it step by step; put everything we have learnt onto the track and I’m confident with the team that we can have great success.”
 


Caio Collet: “I’m excited to race in Budapest, it is great track, and the weather is predicted to be nice too! We’ve had good results at the past few weekends, even if I know we can do even better. We haven’t put complete weekends together from start to finish, and the aim this weekend is to score podiums and points to go into the summer feeling positive about our season so far.”



Abbi Pulling: “I am looking forward to Budapest – it is a new track for me but I think it will suit my driving style. I’m looking forward to learning the circuit and seeing what results we can get. Fingers crossed we can make up from last weekend at Paul Ricard, as I had some brake problems with the car. Hopefully we can be competitive in Budapest and climb up the championship.”



Alice Powell: “It is going to be another hot weekend in Budapest like it was at Paul Ricard, but it is nice to have a back-to-back race weekend. I know the circuit this time round and finished second there last year. I’m looking forward to starting fresh this weekend and the aim is to be back at the top.”





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