The GP2 Series exchanges rings this weekend as Nurburg makes way for Hungaro and the seventh round of the 2007 championship. The weather at the circuit on the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary, is set to be sweltering this weekend after a heat wave in the country saw temperatures rise as high as 40 degrees in recent days.
That said, there is still the ever-looming possibility of thunderstorms, and as the GP2 Series discovered last year, Hungaroring in the wet can be a pretty exciting place to be racing. Blue Danube: The Hungarian Round of the 2007 GP2 Series sees us enter the second half of what is turning out to be an incredibly closely contested championship. After seeing nine different drivers take victory in the first nine races of the year, the races in Germany two weeks ago saw Timo Glock and Javier Villa become the first drivers to take their second victories of the season.
At this tricky circuit, not known for its overtaking opportunities, the level of competitiveness is such that another new winner could be just around the corner. Having said that the Hungaroring is not notorious for its overtaking spots, the GP2 Series has always managed to throw up exciting races at the circuit. Last year’s rain affected weekend went down in history as the first time that a driver scored maximum available points. That driver was Nelson Piquet Jr, and his record-breaking weekend set him up for a nail-biting run in to the end of the championship with eventual champion Lewis Hamilton. This weekend, Timo Glock’s rivals will be gunning for the German as they attempt to stem the flow of points he started to amass on his home track last time out, after a four-race lull that had seen his championship lead cut to almost entirely nothing. Meanwhile, the GP2 Series welcomes two new drivers this weekend.
Following Sakon Yamamoto’s promotion to a full-time race seat with the Spyker Formula One Team, Finn Markus Niemela steps into the vacant BCN Competicion seat. Meanwhile over at Racing Engineering, Spain’s Marcos Martinez will take the number 15 car for the rest of the season. What about the championship? Timo got back to winning ways in Germany, and a double points haul has taken him to a championship leading tally of 53.
Lucas di Grassi remains in second place as the most consistent driver of 2007, having only failed to score in one race this season. The Brazilian is now seven points behind his great rival, with Luca Filippi a further 11 points behind Luca after a disappointing weekend in Germany. In the teams’ championship iSport International maintain their first place with an extended tally of 73 points. Their nearest rivals ART Grand Prix are now 20 points behind them, with Super Nova International just five points behind the double team champions.
