Formula 1: Hungarian Grand Prix Preview

Round 11 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship takes place this weekend.

The Hungarian Grand Prix has been a fixture on the calendar since 1986, when Nelson Piquet won for Williams. This was the first Grand Prix ever held behind the Iron Curtain.

Politics have changed in the intervening years, but the venue has not—2012's event will be the 27th at the Hungaroring, close to Hungarian capital Budapest.

Hopefully, it'll be one of the best the track has produced.

As It Stands

Fernando Alonso's victory in Germany has given him a substantial lead in the drivers' championship, with Mark Webber second and Sebastian Vettel in third.

Kimi Raikkonen has overtaken Lewis Hamilton in the standings and is now fourth—with some major issues at Ferrari, it's unlikely either of the two can mount a serious title challenge.

The current top 10 are:

Pos	Driver	Team	Points
01	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	154
02	Mark Webber	Red Bull	120
03	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	110
04	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	98
05	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	92
06	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	76
07	Jenson Button	McLaren	68
08	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	61
09	Sergio Perez	Sauber	47
10	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	33

Constructors' Championship

Red Bull retained their lead in the Constructors' Championship, and, with two drivers scoring good points on a regular basis, it looks like 2012 will bring a third consecutive title for the Austrian team.

At the other end of the scale, sister team Toro Rosso (Italian for Red Bull) have been dropped by the rest of the midfield. The current standings are:

Pos	Team	Points
01	Red Bull	230
02	Ferrari	177
03	McLaren	160
04	Lotus	159
05	Mercedes	105
06	Sauber	80
07	Williams	47
08	Force India	46
09	Toro Rosso	6

Caterham, Marussia and HRT remain pointless, and this doesn't appear likely to change.

The Hungaroring

The Hungaroring is an unusual circuit. Built in just eight months, starting in October 1985, the track is narrow, slow and has only one straight of any note.

Does it meet the needs of modern F1? Probably not—it's more like a giant go-kart track than a venue for the world's top motorsport. If the weather stays dry, it tends to produce relatively dull, processional races.

But who knows—everyone was saying that about Valencia earlier in the year, and look what happened there.

And it does at least have some nice elevation changes.

A Lap

A lap begins on the pit straight, on a quite lengthy run toward the only "real" overtaking spot on the circuit, Turn 1. This corner was pushed back and tightened in 2003 to make passing slightly easier, and it's now a reasonably slow right-hand hairpin.

It opens on the exit through a right-hand kink, before a short run to Turn 2, a long, downhill left. If an overtaking move failed into Turn 1, a driver may be able to get past an out-of-shape rival here, but few would call it a genuine overtaking opportunity.

Turn 3 is a fast right-hand kink, and the cars head down a short straight, which goes downhill before rising toward the end. It was here that Felipe Massa suffered horrific head injuries in 2009.

This is the second-longest straight on the track, but it offers little in the way of overtaking opportunities.

Turn 4 is a fairly quick, unsighted left-hander and my favourite corner on the circuit. Turn 5, which closely follows, is a medium-speed, lengthy right which is tighter on the entry than the exit.

Turns 6 and 7 follow immediately, a slow right-left chicane. A barely-there straight is next, before Turn 8—a medium-speed left-hander, leading into a very similar right (Turn 9).

The drivers get no time to relax in this section, as Turn 10 (a quicker left-hand kink) comes at them almost as soon as they exit Turn 9.

And there's barely time to take a breath before Turn 11, a fairly quick right-hand corner which leads onto the third of the Hungaroring's straights. Without a major issue for the leading car, passing isn't possible here.

Turn 12 is a medium-speed right, before a long and slow 180-degree left-hander for Turn 13.

The most important corner on the circuit is also the last, Turn 14. Even the most perfectly balanced car never quite looks happy here, as the driver waits patiently to put his foot down onto the pit straight. The start-finish line isn't far after the last corner.

The pit entry is on the inside just before Turn 14, and the pit exit is a short distance before Turn 1.

Tyres and DRS

Pirelli will bring the yellow-marked soft and white-marked medium compound tyres, as a compromise between grip and durability—both of which are in very high demand at this race. A statement on the company website said:

"

This combination is designed to provide the best compromise between the grip that is needed to effectively negotiate the twisty Hungaroring and the durability required to combat the high ambient temperatures close to 30 degrees centigrade that usually characterise the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Traction and braking are the two key areas that challenge the tyres in Hungary, often causing high tyre temperatures that can increase degradation if the drivers do not look after their rubber. With the high number of tight corners and significant steering inputs, the external edges of the tyres are particularly prone to temperature spikes and wear, emphasising the need for a smooth driving style.

"

With overtaking so difficult under normal circumstances, differing levels of tyre wear between the cars may provide us with some excitement this weekend.

DRS

Unfortunately there's only one real straight, so there can only be one DRS zone.

As I write, I can't actually find an official announcement regarding this year's zone, but last year the detection point was just before Turn 14, and the activation point was on the exit of the same corner.

It's safe to assume this year's zone will be the same.

Weather Forecast

As usual, the forecast is for some very warm weather, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday and Sunday.

BBC Weather suggests there's a chance of a shower on race day, while the Formula 1 website forecasts storms.

Accuweather says there's a chance of storms, too.

Everything seems somewhat uncertain, so it may be better to check closer to the time.

Session Times

As always, the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend will consist of three free practice sessions, qualifying and the race.

The session times are:

Practice One	Friday	10:00-11:30
Practice Two	Friday	14:00-15:30
Practice Three	Saturday	11:00-12:00
Qualifying	Saturday	14:00
Race	Sunday	14:00

All are given in Hungarian local time. The Formula 1 website has a tool to easily translate them to your own timezone.