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As Formula 1 enjoys the summer break, the season has passed the halfway mark with just nine races left to decide the championship battle. From Spa next weekend to Abu Dhabi in late November the fight will be getting tougher and more serious, so what will be decisive for the drivers to grab the 2017 title?

It has been experienced throughout the years, that nothing is final in F1 until the chequered flag falls at the final race, whether it be Sebastian Vettel’s first title in 2010, where the German did not top the championship until after the last race, Lewis Hamilton claiming his first championship at the final corner in Brazil in 2008 or Nico Rosberg surviving a tense finale last year.

This year, the Drivers' Championship is headed to one of two locations, Mercedes or Ferrari. Currently leading is Vettel with a 14-point gap to Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas has also been closing the gap lately adding his name to the list of contenders.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each driver and team? Let's analyse and determine the key factors that will decide who will get the spoils at Yas Marina.

Beginning with the two main rivals Vettel and Hamilton, who lead the way with the number of championships of anyone on the current grid. The Briton will be looking to even the series with the 30-year-old with four titles apiece while Vettel will look to tie Juan Manuel Fangio and go joint-second on the all-time list of championship's just two behind the record held by his compatriot and idol Michael Schumacher.

The Mercedes development curve is what Hamilton will be hoping can give him the edge with the Brackley-based team usually better than Ferrari in this area. Continuing to overcome the tyre weaknesses that have particularly hurt at certain circuits is another key goal as is adapting to every upgrade and getting the best performance out of it. Although the Italian team assured their fan base during the off season that the curve will increase in the remaining races. Vettel will be hoping the promises are kept or else he will be losing in this area to his rival.

Meanwhile, he will be hoping to take maximum advantage of his hardworking and detailed approach which some suggest gives him an advantage over Hamilton. Much like Rosberg last year, the level of commitment he shows to car setup and understanding situations often helps him maximise situations. This will come in especially useful should Mercedes start to get a small pace advantage over Ferrari when the ability to find every bit of performance will be absolutely crucial.

When it comes to passion both drivers are known to be two of the most passionate drivers ever, although each of them has their own way to show that. It remains critical that the extra passion they have doesn't backfire at a certain point, as we saw with Vettel in Baku. Certainly, however, each time the two share the same piece of race track the tension will be palpable.

Perhaps the biggest factor, however, is team interference, which will have a huge effect from now on. Ferrari are always known to have a No. 1 and No. 2 system strategy and this year Kimi Raikkonen, who is struggling down in fifth in the standings, personally admitted he will help his teammate if the Finn’s hopes for the championship were mathematically over.

Heading to the final stages of the year then, Vettel is expected to have his teammate’s support but the situation is much different at Mercedes with Bottas in the championship mix. Mercedes have always announced their drivers are free to race until one driver's title hopes are not longer realistic but is it time they change that to avoid the 2007 scenario, which saw McLaren lose the championship with Raikkonen taking advantage of the in-team battle between Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to clinch the championship? Mercedes will have to sort that out to their own best or else Vettel will take that to his own advantage.

As for Bottas, the Finn has his different case. He is in his first season at Mercedes and has surely exceeded all expectations with constant smooth races during the season while silently closing in on the championship. He also showed he has the ability to win and fight out on the circuit. With no championship expectations from the first season set, Bottas will enjoy a pressure-free approach and that may help his hopes even more.

The identity of this year's F1 world champion is far from determined yet but what is assured is that the upcoming nine races will be nerve wrecking and provide huge entertainment for the fans.

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The Hungarian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually in Hungary. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 21 June 1936 over a 3.1-mile (5.0 km) track laid out in Népliget, a park in Budapest. The Mercedes-Benz, Auto Union, and the Alfa Romeo-equipped Ferrari teams all sent three cars and the event drew a very large crowd. However, politics and the ensuing war meant the end of Grand Prix motor racing in the country for fifty years.

A major coup by Bernie Ecclestone, the 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix was the first Formula One race to take place behind the Iron Curtain. Held at the twisty Hungaroring in Mogyoród near Budapest, the race has been a mainstay of the racing calendar. Run in the heat of a central European summer, it also held the distinction of being the only current Grand Prix venue that had never seen a wet race up until the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. Today, the support is still very enthusiastic, particularly from Finns

Hungarian Grand Prix, Round 10 of the 2017 Formula 1 season 

Circuit Name: Hungaroring

Race Laps: 70

Circuit Length: 4.381 km (2.722 mi)

Race Length: 306.663 km (190.560 mi)

Number of corners: 14 (8 Right, 6 Left)

DRS Zones: T1-2, T14-1

Circuit direction: Clockwise

Pole Position 2016: Nico Rosberg - Mercedes 1:19.965

Race track record: 1:19:071 Michael Schumacher – Ferrari 2004

Absolute track record: 1:18.436 Rubens Barrichello – Ferrari, Q1, 2004

Distance from pole to T1 Apex: 617.6 m

Pole position Side: Left

Pit lane length under speed limit Control: 363.1 m

Drive-through Time at 80 km/h: 16.34 s

Lap time at Full Throttle: 33 %

Lap distance at Full Throttle: 44 %

Gear changes per lap: 44

Braking events (>2G): 11

Heavy braking events (<0.4s @ >4G): 1

Fuel consumption: Low

Maximum lateral G-Force: 4.5 G

Maximum speed: 315 km/h

Track evolution (P1 – Qualifying): Medium

Key overtaking opportunities: T 1, 12

Hungaroring Circuit

Pirelli used compounds

Tyres that must be available (one of them to be used) at some point in the race:

One set of P Zero White Medium

One set of P Zero Yellow soft

Tyres assigned for Q3 in qualifying:                     

One set of P Zero Red Super-Soft

Teams/Drivers compounds choice

Driver Medium Soft Super-Soft
Lewis Hamilton 1 3 9
Valtteri Bottas 1 3 9
Daniel Ricciardo 1 3 9
Max Verstappen 1 2 10
Sebastian Vettel 1 3 9
Kimi Raikkonen 1 3 9
Sergio Perez 1 2 10
Esteban Ocon 1 2 10
Lance Stroll 1 2 10
Felipe Massa 1 2 10
Stoffel Vandoorne 1 2 10
Fernando Alonso 1 2 10
Daniil Kvyat 1 3 9
Carlos Sainz 1 3 9
Romain Grosjean 1 4 8
Kevin Magnussen 1 4 8
Nico Hulkenberg 1 2 10
Jolyon Palmer 1 2 10
Marcus Ericsson 1 3 9
Pascal Wehrlein 1 3 9

THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW:

 

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING

“The track was resurfaced in time for last year’s grand prix and it will be interesting to see the effect of this change one year on, as the new asphalt matures. We noticed last year that it was smoother and generally faster than the previous surface. The team’s tyre selections have leaned in favour of soft and supersoft, so we obviously expect that to form the basis of their strategies. Hungary is traditionally a race where strategy makes the difference, also because of the difficulty of overtaking, so the data collection process on Friday and Saturday should be even more important than usual with this brand-new generation of faster cars”.

BUDAPEST MINIMUM STARTING PRESSURES (SLICKS)

 

EOS  CAMBER LIMIT

 

Hungarian Grand Prix Winners 1986 – 2016

Year

Driver

Constructor

Location

2016

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

Hungaroring

2015

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

2014

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull-Renault

2013

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

2012

Lewis Hamilton

McLaren-Mercedes

2011

Jenson Button

McLaren-Mercedes

2010

 Mark Webber

Red Bull-Renault

2009

Lewis Hamilton

McLaren-Mercedes

2008

Heikki Kovalainen

McLaren-Mercedes

2007

Lewis Hamilton

McLaren-Mercedes

2006

Jenson Button

Honda

2005

Kimi Raikkonen

McLaren-Mercedes

2004

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari

2003

Fernando Alonso

Renault

2002

Rubens Barrichello

Ferrari

2001

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari

2000

Mika Häkkinen

McLaren-Mercedes

1999

Mika Häkkinen

McLaren-Mercedes

1998

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari

1997

Jacques Villeneuve

Williams-Renault

1996

Jacques Villeneuve

Williams-Renault

1995

Damon Hill

Williams-Renault

1994

Michael Schumacher

Benetton-Ford

1993

Damon Hill

Williams-Renault

1992

Ayrton Senna

McLaren-Honda

1991

Ayrton Senna

McLaren-Honda

1990

Thierry Boutsen

Williams-Renault

1989

Nigel Mansell

Ferrari

1988

Ayrton Senna

McLaren-Honda

1987

Nelson Piquet

Williams-Honda

1986

Nelson Piquet

Williams-Honda

 

Multiple Winners (Drivers)

Number of wins

Driver

Years

5

 Lewis Hamilton

2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016

4

 Michael Schumacher

1994, 1998, 2001, 2004

3

 Ayrton Senna

1988, 1991, 1992

2

 Nelson Piquet

1986, 1987

 Damon Hill

1993, 1995

 Jacques Villeneuve

1996, 1997

 Mika Häkkinen

1999, 2000

 Jenson Button

2006, 2011

 

Multiple Winners (Constructors)

# of wins

Constructor

Years won

11

McLaren

1988, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012

7

Williams

1986, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997

6

Ferrari

1989, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2015

2

Red Bull

2010, 2014

Mercedes

2015, 2016

 

 

Numbers and Facts

 

Most wins (driver) 5, Lewis Hamilton 2007 – 2009 – 2012 – 2013 – 2016

Most wins (constructor) 11, McLaren 1988 – 91 – 92 – 99 – 2000 – 05 – 07 – 08 – 09 – 11 – 12

Wins from pole position: 13, 1988 – 90 – 91 – 94 – 95 – 99 – 2001 – 02 – 03 – 04 – 07 – 12 – 13

Lowest grid for past winner: 14 Jenson Button 2006

Most recent 1-2 finish: 2016 Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton – Nico Rosberg)

Most emphatic win (here) 1993 1m 11.915s Damon Hill and Riccardo Patrese

Closest winning margin: 1990, 0.288 Thierry Boutsen and Ayrton Senna

Rain-affected races: 2, 2006 – 2011

Safety Car-affected races: 4, 2006 – 2010 – 2014 – 2015

Fastest race: 2004, 70 laps @ 1hr 35m 26.131s

Slowest race (here) 1986, 76 laps @ 2hrs 00m 34.508s

Most pole positions (driver) 7, Michael Schumacher 1994 – 96 – 97 – 2000 – 01 – 04 – 05

Most pole positions (constructor) 8, McLaren 88 – 91 – 98 – 99 –06 – 07 – 08 – 12

What Happened last race here?

Lewis Hamilton controlled the race from the moment he passed Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo briefly threatened the leaders at mid-distance but his challenge faded.

Ricciardo had to be content with holding off Sebastian Vettel for third.

The Australian's team-mate Max Verstappen was fifth with Vettel's Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finishing close behind.

Raikkonen, who drove well from 14th on the grid, collided with Verstappen's Red Bull in a lively fight in the closing laps but was unable to pass the Dutchman.

 

2016 Race Classification

Pos

Driver

Constructor

Time/Retired

Grid

1

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:40:30.115

2

2

Nico Rosberg

Mercedes

+1.977

1

3

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer

+27.539

3

4

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

+28.213

5

5

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer

+48.659

4

6

Kimi Raikkonen

Ferrari

+49.044

14

7

Fernando Alonso

McLaren-Honda

+1 Lap

7

8

Carlos Sainz Jr.

Toro Rosso-Ferrari

+1 Lap

6

9

Valtteri Bottas

Williams-Mercedes

+1 Lap

10

10

Nico Hulkenberg

Force India-Mercedes

+1 Lap

9

11

Sergio Perez

Force India-Mercedes

+1 Lap

13

12

Jolyon Palmer

Renault

+1 Lap

17

13

Esteban Gutierrez

Haas-Ferrari

+1 Lap

15

14

Romain Grosjean

Haas-Ferrari

+1 Lap

11

15

Kevin Magnussen

Renault

+1 Lap

19

16

Daniil Kvyat

Toro Rosso-Ferrari

+1 Lap

12

17

Felipe Nasr

Sauber-Ferrari

+1 Lap

16

18

Felipe Massa

Williams-Mercedes

+2 Laps

18

19

Pascal Wehrlein

MRT-Mercedes

+2 Laps

20

20

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber-Ferrari

+2 Laps

PL

21

Rio Haryanto

MRT-Mercedes

+2 Laps

21

Ret

Jenson Button

McLaren-Honda

Oil leak

8

 

Did you know?

DRIVERS

Sebastian Vettel has still not won back-to-back Grand Prix since he won the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix. That race ended a 9-race run of victories that started in Belgium, (BEL, ITA, SIN, KOR, JAP, IND, ABU, USA, BRA)

Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are the only drivers to have finished in the points in all races so far this season

After 10 races in 2017 just 1 point separates Vettel and Hamilton in the championship standings. In 2016 arriving in Hungary after the tenth race, Great Britain, just 1 point separated Nico Rosberg, first and Hamilton second in the championship standings. A case of dèjá vu? (last year after 10, Rosberg had 168 points and Hamilton 167)

Hamilton needs just 1 more top ten finish to beat Jenson Button’s 162 GP in the points, an all-time record for a British driver. Most all-time for a driver of any nationality is 221 races in the points by Michael Schumacher

Hamilton is just 1 pole position from equalling Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 68 F1 GP pole positions. Since he has been at Mercedes he has taken pole 41 times already. That is nearly 50% of all races he’s started for the team (41/ 85 = 48.2%).

Hamilton has won (57) 28.8% of all GP he’s started (198) and is in the top 10 drivers races to win ratio of all-time. Here’s how he compares:- 1. Fangio 47.0%, 2. Ascari 40.6%, 3. Clark 34.7%, 4. M. Schumacher 29.7%, 5. Hamilton 28.8%, 6. Ja. Stewart 27.2%, 7. Prost 25.6%, 8. A. Senna 25.5%, 9. Moss 24.2% 10. Vettel 23.9% (45/188)

Kimi Raikkonen’s next win if ever it comes will be the 21st of his F1 career and will also be the most by a Finnish driver in F1. Currently he shares the record of 20 wins by a Finn with Mika Hakkinen. Another career stat he shares is 37 F1 front row appearances with Fernando Alonso

The Spanish Grand Prix marked the first anniversary of Max Verstappen’s first Grand Prix win. He has until the Singapore Grand Prix in September to win a second while still a teenager. (20th birthday on September 30th 2017). He is of course, so far the only teenager in F1 history to win a F1 World Championship Grand Prix and could still become the only teenager to take pole position too for a F1 World Championship Grand Prix. Max and Ricardo Rodriguez who started the 1961 Italian Grand Prix from P2 in his Ferrari when aged 19 years and 208 days are the only teenage drivers to date to have started a Grand Prix from the front row (Max the youngest, at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix where he started P2 he was aged18 years and 333 days

Sergio Perez needs just 1 more podium to become the Mexican driver with the most F1 podiums (currently = with Pedro Rodriguez on 7) 

The British GP was the 50th race since Nico Hulkenberg last led a GP, Brazil 2014. The only race he’s led since Brazil 2014 is the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours which of course

he won sharing a Porsche 919 Hybrid with New Zealander Earl Bamber and British driver Nick Tandy. Hulkenberg will be 30 on 19 August, before next GP in Belgium

Alonso will celebrate his 36th birthday on Saturday, Qualifying day. Unfortunately, Alonso has not led an F1 race lap since leading laps 55 to 67 here in 2014. Since then he has started 54 GP. The 2014 race here also marked his most recent visit to the race podium

 

CONSTRUCTORS

Mercedes in Hungary will be aiming to lockout the front row for the 50th time. The all-time record is 62 and is jointly held by McLaren and Williams. The lock-out if

achieved would also mark the 149th and 150th F1 front row appearances by a driver racing for Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes as a constructor has set 1 more race fastest lap in F1 World Championship GP (53) than Red Bull (52)

Mercedes now led 1 more F1 World Championship GP as a constructor (89) than Renault - as a constructor (88)

Ferrari has still not scored consecutive pole positions since Fernando Alonso took pole for the Scuderia at the 2012 British and German Grand Prix and has still not

scored a consecutive front row lock-out since Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa lock-out the front row for the 2006 US and French Grand Prix

Ferrari last season was the only team to score championship points at all 21 events

Mercedes and Red Bull have each scored 141 F1 World Championship GP podiums. The most podiums scored is by Ferrari (716)

Red Bull has achieved a podium result for at least one of their drivers in 105 different F1 Grand Prix. Mercedes has achieved their podium score in 90 Grand Prix

The current Williams team traces its origins back to 1977. The team began by running a March for Belgian Patrick Neve who sadly died earlier is year and later in 1978, became a constructor running a single FW06 car for Alan Jones. In 1979 the team expanded to 2 cars with Clay Regazzoni joining Jones. Regazzoni won Williams’s first Grand Prix, at Silversone in 1979 while Jones claimed Williams’s first driver’s and first constructor’s titles in 1980. Frank Williams had made his first forays into F1 in 1969, running a Brabham for Piers Courage. Campaigns with De Tomaso, private March’s, with his own cars and Heskeths latterly in conjunction with Canadian-Austrian entrepreneur Walter Wolf followed but it wasn’t until Williams teamed up with Head in 1977 and started all over again that Williams’s F1 fortunes really took off

McLaren has not led a F1 race lap since Jenson Button led lap 14 of the Hungarian GP here in 2014. The team has started 58 GP since

 

HUNGARIAN GRAD PRIX

Lewis Hamilton is chasing a 6th Hungarian GP win. His 5 wins to date is already an all-time record for the event. Nobody else competing this year has won the race more

than once. At present, the Canadian GP is the only F1 event that Hamilton has won 6 times

Hamilton is chasing a 6th Hungarian GP pole position. To date only Michael Schumacher has more poles here (7) than Hamilton’s 5

Daniel Ricciardo who won here in 2014, his second F1 win, has finished on the podium in Hungary for the past 3 years. He is the only driver to have featured on the

podium here each year for the last 3 years

Mercedes’s 1-2 result here last year was the first 1-2 result for a constructor here since 2004 when Ferrari finished the race first and second

 

Driver’s Championship standing

Pos

Driver

Points

1

Sebastian Vettel

177

2

Lewis Hamilton

176

3

Valtteri Bottas

154

4

Daniel Ricciardo

117

5

Kimi Raikkonen

98

6

Max Verstappen

57

7

Sergio Perez

52

8

Esteban Ocon

43

9

Carlos Sainz Jr.

29

10

Nico Hulkenberg

26

11

Felipe Massa

23

12

Lance Stroll

18

13

Romain Grosjean

18

14

Kevin Magnussen

11

15

Pascal Wehrlein

5

16

Daniil Kvyat

4

17

Fernando Alonso

2

18

Jolyon Palmer

0

19

Marcus Ericsson

0

20

Stoffel Vandoorne

0

21

Antonio Giovinazzi

0

Jenson Button

0

 

Constructor’s Championship standing

Pos

Team

Points

1

Mercedes

287

2

Ferrari

254

3

Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer

152

4

Force India Mercedes

89

5

Williams Mercedes

40

6

Toro Rosso

33

7

Haas Ferrari

29

8

Renault

18

9

Sauber Ferrari

5

10

Mclaren Honda

2

 

Driver’s penalty points:

Driver

Penalty points

Daniil Kvyat

9

Sebastian Vettel

7

Carlos Sainz

7

Kevin Magnussen

5

Jolyon Palmer

5

Sergio Perez

5

Stoffel Vandoorne

5

Nico Hulkenberg

4

Esteban Ocon

3

Romain Grosjean

3

Pascal Wehrlein

2

Felipe Massa

2

Lewis Hamilton

2

Jenson Button

2

Max Verstappen

1

 

 

 

Photo: motogp.com

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The MotoGP grid rolls into Brno for round ten of the Championship and so far, we've seen ten different podium finishers, four different Championship leaders and five different race winners, and there's a whole host of riders who are eager to add to that tally.

In Brno last year, it was LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow who took the victory, with a massive seven second lead on nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi. Marc Marquez rounded out the podium, but all eyes will surely be on him to extend his current Championship lead. Marquez hasn't won the Czech GP since 2013, but has been in the top four in each Brno race since.

He'll be heading to the track brimming with confidence and a five point lead over his closest rival Maverick Viñales. There's no discounting his team mate, Dani Pedrosa, either. He won in Jerez and has been on the podium three times since, but with the Repsol Honda team having tested at the track in mid-July they're sure to have an advantage.

Viñales (Movistar Yamaha) has seriously impressed everyone since the start of the season. He has won three of the nine races on machinery that is completely new to him, after stepping up to the factory Yamaha squad at the beginning of the year. Team mate Rossi can never be ruled out, and his nine World titles truly do speak for themselves.

The pair's performances faltered mid-season, but they reigned it in at the Sachsenring where they finished fourth and fifth respectively. They'll both be eager to win in Brno, as both sit within the top five of the overall standings.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) is having a stellar season so far. He won two consecutive races in Mugello and Catalunya and led the Championship during that time. He now sits in third overall, separating the two Yamahas. His team mate, Jorge Lorenzo, is telling a completely different story.

When he announced he would be moving from factory Yamaha to factory Ducati for 2017, it was both shocking and not. Everybody wants a go at taming the Desmosedici, but only Casey Stoner could really do it. Rossi tried and struggled, and Lorenzo seemed to want to go to Ducati and do everything his team mate [Rossi] couldn't

. But so far, it's not working out too great for poor Jorge. In Jerez, he stood on the podium for the first time this season and he followed that up in Le Mans with a sixth place. Two rounds later in Catalunya, he finished fourth but these are not results we should be celebrating for the young Mallorcan.

Although it takes time to adjust to the new machinery, we should be seeing some results. He'll be looking for a strong points haul in the second half of the season, starting in Brno.

And who can forget the heroics of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team? MotoGP rookies Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger have exceeded expectation this year, with both of them achieving one podium each and numerous rostrum fights.

Team boss Herve Poncheral certainly knows talent when he sees it, and he seems to have hit the big time with these two. Last year, both were competing in the Moto2 World Championship and Folger won the race with a five second gap over Alex Rins. Zarco finished in eleventh, so it's clear that he won't be going down without a fight.

Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) has proved that he was worthy of the GP17 machinery, as it came to a 'points fight' between him and team mate Scott Redding to decide who would get the newer Ducati.

He's got to grips with it quickly and is rapidly improving. A win should be on the cards for Petrucci soon, will it be at Brno?

Part two of the MotoGP season begins on Friday with Free Practice 1 at 9:55am (GMT+2), who can hold their nerve to take the first victory after the summer break? 

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Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are preparing for a battle for supremacy heading into the summer break, as the final chapter of the opening saga of Formula 1 in 2017 will be written at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The two drivers are separated by just a single point at the halfway point of the season and whoever comes out on top on Sunday in Budapest, will be able to relax on the beach a little more comfortably as the championship leader.

Heading to the Hungaroring, the momentum is firmly in Hamilton and Mercedes' favour. Had it not been for a headrest in Baku and a gearbox penalty in Austria, the Briton could have very well won all four races since Vettel and Ferrari's last win almost two months ago in Monaco and the Silver Arrow does appear to be edging away from the Prancing Horse in the development race too.

In recent years, however, Hungary hasn't been so kind to Mercedes. Sure the Briton claimed his first win with the team in 2013 and led a 1-2 with Nico Rosberg last year but the two years in between, while they were dominating, Daniel Ricciardo and Vettel walked away with the honours as the weather, tyres and bad luck intervened.

That should offer hope to Ferrari that they can end the recent rot and look to reset over the summer, particularly as the team has been successful on less power sensitive circuits of which Budapest certainly falls under the category of.

But to come out on top they will have to beat Hamilton at one of his most successful tracks with the 32-year-old holding the most wins of anyone with five at the Hungaroring.

Mention less power sensitive and a need for high downforce in the same sentence and Red Bull can not be kept out of the conversation. The team will be under scrutiny with the legality of their front wing being called into question but there's little doubt the progress made since Spain with the RB13 means Max Verstappen and Ricciardo will likely be in the mix.

Both had good races for different reasons at Silverstone as the Dutchman ended a barren spell of results with a fourth place finish and the Australian recovered from the back of the grid to take fifth. Though the pace

Though the pace shown didn't meet expectations at the British track, another significant upgrade package is due for Budapest as the Milton Keynes-based outfit continue their quest for a three-team fight at the front.

Entering the midfield and, in a similar vein to Red Bull, McLaren is the team to watch this weekend. This race has been targeted as one of their best opportunities for points and with the updated Spec 3 Honda engine and the known qualities of the MCL32 chassis, they could well take the battle to Force India, Renault and Haas, who are the other likely main contenders for the top 10.

Hungary is a critical race for all involved at Woking, as Fernando Alonso is likely to start seriously considering his future in the month ahead and a final decision on any change in engine supplier also likely in August.

As mentioned Force India is likely to remain a strong top 10 contender, the outfit has improved tremendously from being one that only thrived on low downforce circuits but interestingly, neither Sergio Perez nor Esteban Ocon has finished as the leading midfield runner since they finished fifth and sixth in Canada.

Haas and Renault have on the other hand with Romain Grosjean sixth in Austria and Nico Hulkenberg matching that result at Silverstone. Both teams are expected to be better suited to the requirements of the Hungaroring too, making it a titanic tussle for those final points.

Two names not mentioned are Williams and Toro Rosso. For the Grove-based team, single lap pace has been a major problem since introducing updates in Austria and, with overtaking difficult, chances of another recovery drive would be reduced should that happen again.

As for the junior Red Bull team, Carlos Sainz is a name you would throw into the hat as a top 10 contender with Daniil Kvyat not far behind, do they have the same  potential in the car to match their performance from Monaco, the last circuit bearing any resemblance to Budapest, we'll have to wait and see.

Finally, Sauber will bring their own significant aero upgrade package but it's hard to see it being enough to close on the rest of the midfield with the gap growing ever wider at recent races.

 

         

 

 

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