Hungaroring

The momentum is with Red Bull after dominant back-to-back victories at Silverstone and the Nurburgring, so Brawn will be eager to strike back before Formula 1 adjourns for its extended four-week summer break, while McLaren finally appears to be on the up.

ITV.com/F1 assesses the form of all 20 drivers ahead of what promises to be an intriguing event at the Hungaroring.


1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) - McLaren

Championship position: 11th, 9 points

After Hamilton’s impressive turn of speed at the Nurburgring came to nothing in the race, he is determined to capitalise on the car’s transformed performance in Hungary. Perhaps Lewis was over-eager at the start in Germany, but he’s really hustling the MP4-24 and as it starts to come on song he will surely be back on the podium before long. The slowish corners of the Hungaroring should be relatively forgiving of the car’s remaining deficiencies and make Hamilton a real threat.

Last five race results: 18th / 16th / 13th / 12th / 9th
(most recent first)


2. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN) - McLaren

Championship position: 13th, 5 points

Forever in the shadow of his world champion team-mate, the Finn has continued to get on with his job with the minimum of fuss – although his frustration at not having the same updates as his team-mate began to surface in Germany. In the circumstances he did well to qualify just one place behind Hamilton and bring home a point. With the playing field levelled and a return to the scene of his maiden F1 win, the Finn will be hoping to kick-start a string of solid points-scoring finishes.

Last five race results: 8th / R / 14th / R / R


3. Felipe Massa (BR) - Ferrari

Championship position: 5th, 22 points

Stefano Domenicali has made it clear that Ferrari will shortly switch its focus to 2010, but in the meantime the Maranello squad seems finally to have got a handle on the F60. Massa has not finished outside the points since Bahrain, and said his first podium of the year in Germany was a great morale boost. Ferrari has not won here since Michael Schumacher’s dominant 2004 season, but with this season’s topsy-turvy hierarchy, another podium is not out of the question for the impressively consistent Massa.

Last five race results: 3rd / 4th / 6th / 4th / 6th


4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) - Ferrari

Championship position: 10th, 10 points

A winner here for McLaren in 2005, Raikkonen’s heart has never truly seemed in it this season. With his WRC debut in Finland just around the corner, his head may also be in a different place. Few things seem to bother the laid-back Finn, but all the talk of Alonso taking his place might stir Kimi into action with only eight rounds remaining. Another anonymous race at the Nurburgring, on the other hand, would fuel speculation that he is nearing the end of his Ferrari tenure.

Last five race results: R / 8th / 9th / 3rd / R


5. Robert Kubica (POL) - BMW Sauber

Championship position: 15th, 2 points

The Pole is clearly one of F1’s brightest talents, but doesn’t seem able to work many miracles with the underwhelming BMW F1.09 and, unlike last year, is struggling to assert himself over Heidfeld. On the three-year anniversary of his F1 debut here in 2006, a single point would rank as a success for Kubica. BMW really needs to give him a good car here so that a contract extension can be negotiated in the following four-week break.

Last five race results: 14th / 13th / 7th / R / 11th


6. Nick Heidfeld (D) - BMW Sauber

Championship position: 12th, 6 points

Quietly racking up the points is a Heidfeld trademark, and means he often appears higher in the championship table than you might expect. The 2009 BMW has rarely allowed him to do this, but he reckoned only a delayed release from the pits came between him and eighth place in Germany. He usually goes well in Hungary and if he manages a top-10 qualifying berth you’d fancy him to pick up some stealthy points.

Last five race results: 10th / 15th / 11th / 11th / 7th








7. Fernando Alonso (E) - Renault

Championship position: 9th, 13 points

After an uncharacteristic qualifying error and a spin on the warm-up lap in Germany, normal service was resumed in the race as Alonso charged into the points and set fastest lap in the process. The double world champion unfailingly gets the best out of his equipment, and his late surge at the Nurburgring suggests the R29 might not be quite the dog it seemed. But he must ensure he qualifies well in Hungary, even at the expense of a less-than-ideal strategy.

Last five race results: 7th / 14th / 10th / 7th / 5th


8. Nelson Piquet Jr (BR) - Renault

Championship position: 19th, 0 points

Outqualified Alonso for the first time ever in Germany, but let the opportunity slip in all-too-familiar fashion. Flavio Briatore is renowned for being hard on his drivers – just ask Jarno Trulli – so you would have to assume Piquet is on borrowed time unless he can get his name on the score board pretty promptly. After Hungary, contract negotiations will really start in earnest, so a points finish would really boost his chances of staying in the F1 fold.

Last five race results: 13th / 12th / 16th / R / 12th


9. Jarno Trulli (I) - Toyota

Championship position: 6th, 21.5 points

Toyota’s form has fluctuated disconcertingly in recent races and Nurburgring was another case in point; Trulli’s second fastest lap only added to the puzzle. Jarno attributed the team’s struggles in Germany to the low track temperatures, in which case the TF109 should go much better in Hungary. The last maximum downforce race, Monaco, was an unmitigated disaster for Toyota – but the team is confident it now has a better understanding of what went wrong there. Hard to call.

Last five race results: 17th / 7th / 4th / 13th / R


10. Timo Glock (D) - Toyota

Championship position: 8th, 13 points

Having started from the pit lane, Glock made remarkable progress through the field at his home grand prix, just missing out on a point. He is notably adept at getting the best out of a fuel-heavy car, which often sees him climb up the order from middling qualifying positions, but at the Hungaroring a good grid position is not an optional extra. Achieved his best F1 finish to date here last year with a superb drive to second place.

Last five race results: 9th / 9th / 8th / 10th / 10th


11. Jaime Alguersuari (E) - Toro Rosso

Championship position: n/a

Being a rookie in F1 is never easy. Making your debut mid-season without the benefit of any testing is even harder. If this wasn’t enough, Alguersuari will also become the youngest ever F1 driver on Sunday, there’s a chance he will be replaced by WRC legend Sebastien Loeb at an unconfirmed point and Toro Rosso isn’t averse to firing drivers mid-season. However, he was the first Spaniard to win the British F3 championship and, with a major upgrade to the STR4 coming online in Hungary, don’t be surprised to see some impressive practice times from the youngster. Beating Buemi in the race will be his Everest.

Last five race results: n/a


12. Sebastien Buemi (CH) - Toro Rosso

Championship position: 14th, 3 points

Buemi has surprised many this year. He had won a handful of GP2 races from the reverse grid but nothing to suggest stardom beckoned, and yet he has consistently surpassed expectations and seen off a big-name team-mate. He won the sprint race here last year and will also benefit from the new aero package. If the team can quickly get to grips with the updated car, the Swiss has shown the potential to become a regular top-10 finisher. Hungary may be too soon for more points though.

Last five race results: 17th / 18th / 15th / R / R


14. Mark Webber (AUS) - Red Bull

Championship position: 3rd, 45.5 points

Webber was as dominant in Germany as anyone has been all season, which underlined both his own determination to win – and avoid getting shoe-horned into a supporting role to Vettel – and Red Bull’s technical supremacy since the RB5’s Silverstone upgrade. The Australian now has momentum on his side and will be looking to his stamp his authority inside the team once again. Another victory would give RBR a headache as it tries to decide who to back for the drivers’ title, but at the moment the pair are too well-matched for such calculations to come into play.

Last five race results: 1st / 2nd / 2nd / 5th / 3rd


15. Sebastian Vettel (D) - Red Bull

Championship position: 2nd, 47 points

Still Button’s closest challenger in the championship, the ‘next Schumi’ will be eager to keep chipping away at the Briton’s 21-point lead. When out in front the Vettel has looked imperious this year, so his rivals will be eager to keep him in check, and preferably off the front row of the grid. The young German has looked less impressive when stuck in traffic, partly due to the Red Bull’s apparent hyper-sensitivity to turbulence, so will be going all-out for pole. If he bags that, he will have one hand on the victory trophy.

Last five race results: 2nd / 1st / 3rd / R / 4th


16. Nico Rosberg (D) - Williams

Championship position: 7th, 20.5 points

Fourth place in Germany, achieved despite the handicap of carrying an extra 15kg of fuel for most of the race due to a fuel system problem, represented his best drive of an increasingly impressive 2009 campaign. The Williams has been competitive on most types of track, and both team and driver are showing much improved consistency, so expect Rosberg to challenge for his sixth consecutive points finish this weekend.

Last five race results: 4th / 5th / 5th / 6th / 8th


17. Kazuki Nakajima (J) - Williams

Championship position: 20th, 0 points

Kazuki has been knocking on the door of a breakthrough result in the past few races, but as yet has no points to show for his season compared to team-mate Rosberg’s 20.5. Outqualified Nico for the second time running in Germany but then got caught up in a first-lap melee with Trulli. He sorely needs to kickstart his campaign – Patrick Head likes him, but is that enough for a new contract? He must continue his strong recent qualifying form if he is to stand a chance of opening his points account at the Hungaroring.

Last five race results: 12th / 11th / 12th / R / 13th


20. Adrian Sutil (D) - Force India

Championship position: 18th, 0 points

It will be hard to repeat the heroics of the Nurburgring, where his fine drive looked set to be rewarded with Force India’s first ever points until his collision with nemesis Raikkonen. But as Vijay Mallya has pointed out, the small Silverstone-based squad has made bigger performance gains over the season than most others and in the right combination of circumstances it’s not hard to imagine Sutil scraping a point. May face increased competition from Toro Rosso in Hungary given the latter’s aero upgrade, but things are looking up.

Last five race results: 15th / 17th / 17th / 14th / R


21. Giancarlo Fisichella (I) - Force India

Championship position: 17th, 0 points

After a great drive at Silverstone Fisichella was overshadowed by the flying Sutil in Germany, but still put in another solid performance which included early passes on Heidfeld and Alonso and finished less than four seconds off a points finish. Nonetheless, it is Sutil who seems to rise to the occasion when an opportunity to mix it with the big boys arises. Fisi needs to reach Q2 in Hungary to give him the springboard for a top-10 finish.

Last five race results: 11th / 10th / R / 9th / 14th


22. Jenson Button (GB) - Brawn GP

Championship position: 1st, 68 points

Fifth at Silverstone and sixth at the Nurburgring were not in Jenson Button’s script, but despite these blips the Briton retains a healthy 21-point championship lead over Vettel, so there’s no cause for panic – yet. Furthermore, Hungary should suit both Button’s driving style and the Brawn BGP001; the likely higher temperatures and a closer gap between to two Bridgestone tyres should also help Brawn, so expect a much closer contest with Red Bull than in the past two races.

Last five race results: 5th / 6th / 1st / 1st / 1st


23. Rubens Barrichello (BR) - Brawn GP

Championship position: 4th, 44 points

The best way to overcome his post-Nurburgring fury will be to show the Brawn team that he still has it. The track and the conditions should suit the car so Barrichello has to hound Button and the Red Bulls all weekend. His outburst shows he wants it more than ever and a win for Brawn can only be around the corner – is that corner the Hungaroring? Expect him to be in the mix inside a very tight top four or five.

Last five race results: 6th / 3rd / R / 2nd / 2nd


ITV.com/F1's top tips for the Hungaroring

Winner: Button

Jenson’s smooth style suiting the abrasive circuit; the expected sultry conditions; the Brawn preferring the slow and medium-speed corners that the Hungaroring abounds in – it all adds up to a strong case for a Button resurgence. But we’re expecting a much less one-sided contest than the past few races.


Star performer: McLaren

The MP4-24 will certainly not go down as one of the better cars to emerge from Woking, but even the older-spec version was a useful tool around low-speed Monaco, and the lack of fast corners in Hungary should make the downforce shortfall less costly than usual. The latest upgrade clearly worked a treat, so on paper Hamilton and Kovalainen should enjoy their best weekend of the season.


Disappointment: Toro Rosso

The team is expecting a lot from its latest upgrade, which technical director Giorgio Ascanelli says should be as significant as the one Red Bull introduced at Silverstone. But you suspect it will take a couple of races to get the best out of it, while debutant Alguersuari will have a lot on his plate this weekend