Fernando Alonso: "I always enjoy going back to Budapest"
Fernando, despite scoring just two points in Germany, the R29 appears to have taken a step forward…We have definitely improved and the latest upgrades made us much more competitive. It's just a shame that I lost out in the wet qualifying because starting down in 12th meant I was out of position and couldn't show the true pace of the car in the first half of the race. When I did have some clean air, the car was really quick and I set the fastest time for 11 laps of the race so I think we had the potential to be on the podium. It's always easy to say what might have been, but to come away with just two points was a bit disappointing.
The next race is in Budapest, the circuit where you won your first Grand Prix. Do you enjoy going back to where it all began?The memories of my win in 2003 are very special as it was also Renault's first victory since returning to Formula One and it gave the whole team a lot of motivation and self-belief. I always enjoy visiting Budapest as it's a beautiful city, the people are friendly and there is usually a relaxed atmosphere in the paddock as everybody is looking forward to their summer holidays.
Tell us about the track and how you will set the car up?It's one of the slowest tracks of the season and you are almost constantly in a corner so the track is quite demanding mentally and physically, especially with the high temperatures. With so many low-speed corners you need a stable front end because if you understeer wide it will cost you a lot of time. Good traction and mechanical grip are also important to get a clean exit from the slow corners. Overtaking is really difficult and the only real opportunity is into turn one at the end of the main straight, so it's important that we maximise our performance in qualifying so we can start the race well inside the top ten.
Nelson Piquet: "Points must be the target in Hungary"
Nelson, you had mixed fortunes in Germany. Talk us through your weekend…It wasn't an easy weekend as the weather kept changing, especially during qualifying. It was good to get through to Q3 but then I had a poor start to the race and struggled to get heat into the hard tyres, which cost me a lot of places on the first lap. After that I pushed hard, but my car didn't have the new updates that Fernando had and it was difficult to make much progress or match Fernando's pace.
Hungary is a circuit where you've been successful in the past. Are you looking forward to this year's race?I enjoyed Hungary last year and it was probably one of my best races as I finished sixth. It's also a circuit where I won in GP2. Although there are no quick corners, it's a fun place to drive and the twisty layout makes it feel like a go-kart track. It's still quite challenging and you have to find the rhythm of the circuit and be accurate through the slow corners as the exit of one corner is the entry to the next. Any mistakes therefore cost you a lot of time.
What are your aims for next weekend?I should have the same upgrades as Fernando in Hungary and I think I can be more competitive. As always I will be aiming to qualify in the top ten and hopefully score some points in the race. Qualifying will be vital as it's so tough to overtake at the Hungaroring because the braking zones are small and it's very dirty offline, so it's important that we concentrate on getting the most from Saturday.
Bob Bell: "We need to deliver another strong performance in Hungary"
Bob, the team took a big step forward in Germany. What do you feel made the difference?The upgrades we introduced certainly improved the aerodynamic and mechanical performance of the car and allowed us to be much more competitive. When you develop the car to a level where the drivers feel really comfortable and confident with it, you often get a lot more gains than you would expect from the sum of those parts on paper. I think we saw a good example of that at the Nürburgring and Fernando in particular was able to raise his game and get the most from the new parts that he had on his car.
Despite coming away from Germany with just two points, the R29 was the fastest car in the race. You must be optimistic for the rest of the season…It is encouraging, but we need to be cautious and not get too excited by a single performance. We now need to go to Hungary and consolidate that performance improvement to confirm that the pace of the car is genuine and not simply due to unique circumstances in Germany, such as the track conditions or tyre performance.
Will there be more updates in Hungary?In Germany we only had the new updates on Fernando's car, but next weekend Nelson will have the same upgrades as Fernando. There will also be some more bodywork updates that should take us another step further forward. Hungary will also give us more time to optimise all the previous upgrades in terms of car set-up, so I expect to see further benefits coming from the upgrade package we introduced in Germany.
Is the tight and twisty nature of the Hungaroring likely to suit the R29?The problems we have been experiencing with the car in the first half of the year have not been related to specific circuit characteristics and are more general as we were lacking a little bit of performance in all areas of the car. To some extent those deficiencies have been corrected by the recent upgrades and so there's no reason why we can't produce a similar level of performance in Hungary as we did in Germany. The Hungaroring is also a circuit Fernando enjoys and has always gone well at so I think he can be competitive again.
Hungaroring: Tech File
The Hungaroring presents plenty of challenges for drivers and engineers alike. The circuit features no high-speed corners, leading the team to run the highest possible downforce levels, while the primary concern for the engine team is ensuring good cooling in the usually hot conditions. The high summer temperatures also make life difficult for the drivers, who need to be in peak physical condition to cope with a race that gives them very little respite over its 70-lap distance.
AerodynamicsThe twisting, 14-corner layout of the Hungaroring features just one legitimate overtaking opportunity per lap, into turn one. Apart from this straight of just over 700m, the circuit is filled with sequences of low to medium-speed corners, with short braking distances which make overtaking nearly impossible. The result is that the teams all run with maximum downforce levels, similar if not identical to those used in Monaco, in order to optimise not just cornering speeds, but also braking and traction. Maximum speeds achieved on the main straight rarely exceed 300km/h with the V8 engines. Fernando explains: "The circuit is quite intense for the drivers, as there are so many corners in a short lap. The high levels of downforce mean we can be quite aggressive with the car, and the physical loads are high in the quicker corners. The section of track from turns 8 to 11 is all about accuracy, and anticipating the next corner. You need to find a good rhythm through the corners, and have confidence in a stable car balance to steer a smooth, quick course through this sequence."
SuspensionMechanical grip is an important factor at a low-speed circuit such as this, and teams will generally try to run the car with softer settings all round to improve mechanical grip. The drivers want a responsive car in the low-speed sections, with good traction on corner exit, which will usually lead the teams to a forward mechanical bias (stiffer front/softer rear) in terms of set-up. However, rear tyre wear must be monitored very carefully, particularly to avoid overloading the softer compound available this weekend.
TyresBridgestone will bring the soft and super-soft compounds from its 2009 range this weekend. The low-grip circuit conditions, coupled with the absence of high-speed corners, make these choices possible. As has become customary, the tyre management challenge for the weekend will be to control graining on the softest compound, and this should improve as the circuit rubbers-in throughout the weekend. Data collected during practice will determine whether the super-soft is suitable for use during the majority of the race, while cooler-than-expected temperatures, or overnight rain washing the circuit clean of rubber, could further complicate matters. Fernando explains: "The track is always quite green and dusty at the start of the weekend, but it improves with every session and picks up a lot of grip as more rubber goes down. The first corner is the biggest braking zone and the only real overtaking opportunity on the circuit. It's a downhill right-hander that we approach in seventh gear at just under 300 km/h before braking down to 90km/h and downshifting to second gear. You need to take an early apex as the corner opens up on the exit so it's important to have good traction and get on the throttle early to carry good speed on the approach to turn two."
CoolingAnother important chassis parameter will be ensuring good cooling of the mechanical parts. Although the car's cooling capacity is now well-known, attention must be paid to ensuring the radiators are still well-cooled in spite of the high levels of front downforce we run at this circuit. This will have been the object of particular attention in the wind tunnel, and will be fine-tuned during the weekend to ensure the cooling solution required brings the minimum performance penalty.
EngineWith the longest period spent at full throttle barely exceeding ten seconds, and with only 56% of the lap spent at full throttle (significantly lower than the average), this is not a demanding circuit for the engine. Of the 14 corners, five are taken in second gear at around 100km/h. Unlike Monaco, where the cars reach abnormally slow speeds in the hairpins, the minimum speed at the Hungaroring is approximately 90km/h. This means the engine spends the majority of its time in a relatively narrow operating window between 100km/h and 250km/h, and the closely-spaced gear ratios we use are selected to ensure optimum performance in this range. As always on a circuit featuring a large number of slow corners, good torque is important to help launch the cars out of the turns.
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