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2005 Formula
1 Hungarian Grand Prix
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Formula 1 Store | 2005 Formula
1 Hungarian Grand Prix |
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It will be tough for Raikkonen!
Over the last few races it has become evident that McLaren and Renault are in a class of their own with McLaren having a slight edge at some tracks. However McLaren have given away many points due to reliability and that is hurting them. The problem is that to concentrate on improving the reliability they will have to compromise performance allowing Renault to get ahead. The limit on testing and the summer testing ban makes things even harder for McLaren. They won't give up but the only realistic way they could win is for Renault to run into major problems! The race last year at the Hungaroring was easily won by Michael Schumacher with Rubens Barrichello in second and Fernando Alonso in third. This year only Alonso of those three has a realistic change of a podium finish. The track at the Hungaroring is tight and twisty and often described
as 'Monaco without walls'. The cars run maximum downforce due to the many slow speed corners. The track isn't hard on engines
however track temperatures are usually very high and so the cars run maximum cooling. Brakes are also tested here. Here is a team by team review: Renault:
Extend their lead in the Constructors' Championship but are aware that McLaren are slightly faster. They need both drivers to have
strong races to win the title. Drivers: Fernando Alonso leads by 36 points over Raikkonen. Before Raikkonen's retirement it
looked like the margin would shrink to 24 points. Now all Alonso needs to do is finish 4th in every race to win the title even
if Raikkonen wins all remaining 7 races. He won't even be under pressure! Giancarlo Fisichella
was hit from behind in Germany affecting his performance. He recovered well to finish 4th and getting ahead of Michael on the
track. McLaren:
They are fast, very fast actually but continue to give away points due to reliability problems. If they continue this way they won't
win the Constructors' Title no matter how fast they are! Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen retired while comfortably leading the German Grand Prix. His championship chances were dealt a serious blow. Now he can only win it if Alonso starts having serious reliability issues and that is unlikely. Raikkonen's chances for winning in Hungary are small given his early qualifying slot. A podium is likely though Juan Pablo Montoya made a great recovery from last to second in Germany. He may have won had he not made a mistake on his qualifying lap. It seems he is getting close to Raikkonen but has to be consistent. He finish 4th here last year. A podium finish is possible. Ferrari:
As expected, their main rivals in Germany were BAR and Toyota. They are having grip problems and they don't know when they'll sort
those problems! They'll continue to struggle in Hungary. Drivers: Michael Schumacher struggled in the race with a worn rear tyre and lost 2 places on the track to finish 5th. He'll try his best but a podium is unlikely! Rubens Barrichello is struggling. He isn't even finishing in the points. Don't expect much change. Toyota:
Had reasonable pace in Germany but are still behind BAR and Ferrari. Drivers: Jarno Trulli struggled in Germany after having to pit early with a puncture then getting a penalty for ignoring the blue flags then stopping just before the end with a problem. He will do better in Hungary with a points finish likely. Ralf Schumacher once again gets a better result than his team-mate. He is now only 5 points behind Trulli and could catch him if he can maintain a consistent form. Williams:
They continue to struggle in the race. The car seems to have improved but the results are still not there. This track is similar to
Monaco and they did well in Monaco so one or both could finish in the points. Drivers: Nick Heidfeld finished 11th in Germany. Should have a better race here. Points possible. Mark Webber suffered from rear suspension damage early in the race in Hungary and that put him out of contention. He returned to the race in the hope of improving his qualifying slot for Hungary but only 1 car retired and so he'll go out second!. He'll try his best but points will be difficult. Red Bull:
Scored 2 points in Germany and that wasn't expected. They had good pace and that is likely to be repeated here. Drivers: David Coulthard finished 7th just behind brothers Michael and Ralf in Germany. With some luck he could finish in the points again here. Christian Klien lost a few places at the start and finished just outside the points. Managed to overtake Barrichello twice on the track. Like his team-mate, will need a bit of luck to finish in the points. BAR:
Move into 7th in the championship and if Sato starts scoring points they'll head for 5th. The car is strong, they just need two
consistent drivers. Drivers: Jenson Button had a good race in Germany finishing on the podium. He'll have another good race but challenging the Renaults and McLarens will be tough!. Takuma Sato had another poor race after tangling with a number of drivers at the start. He has thrown away potential points in a number of races this season. Sauber: Scored a point in Germany and that too was a surprise. Like Red Bull their pace
wasn't that far behind Toyota so they have a good chance of scoring again. Drivers: Felipe Massa finished 8th at Hockenheim and that was a good result. With a bit of luck he could score a point or two again. Jacques Villeneuve had plenty of incidents at the German race, most of which were not his fault!. He should do better in Hungary but points will be difficult. Jordan:
Were actually behind Minardi in Germany. The new car is delayed again so expect them to be behind Minardi again! Drivers: Tiago Monteiro continues an impressive run of finishes. He is consistent but lacks the pace of his team-mate. Narain Karthikeyan managed to finish the German Grand Prix in 16th place. He made a mistake in qualifying forcing him to abort his run. Finishing here will be hard! Minardi:
Both cars out-qualified the Jordans and Albers actually had a strong race finishing in 13th place. They are making progress
relative to Jordan but scoring points is so hard for Minardi it is very unlikely they'll manage to catch them.
Drivers: Christijan Albers seems to be responding well to competing with his fellow countryman. Expect another good result here! Robert Doornbos had an incident filled race debut with the team but managed well to finish the race. He should do better in Hungary!. Bridgestone News - Michelin News Discuss this preview on the Hungarian Grand Prix Thread on the Forums Join 8 'n' Pole and see how your predictions stack up against the others. Register now!
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