Grand Prix thread Not606 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix Chat and Predictions

Nico's lead at the top has been cut to one point, will we see the championship lead swap hands or can Nico keep hold of it? The Red Bulls are moving closer to Mercedes and further away from Ferrari. Can Ferrari answer? Will Nico be going to the stewards again? Will Lewis be trashing his room?

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Location: Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Hungary
Capacity: 70,000
FIA Grade: 1
Major events:
FIA Formula One
Hungarian Grand Prix (from 1986)
FIA WTCC (from 2011)
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (1988 and 2014)
World Series by Renault (from 2007)
FIA GT Championship (1998-2001, 2006, 2009)
Grand Prix circuit (2003-Present)
Length 4.381 km (2.722 mi)
Turns 16
Most wins (drivers):

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Michael Schumacher (4)

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Lewis Hamilton (4)
Most wins (constructors):

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McLaren (11)
FRI 22ND JUL P1: 9:00AM
FRI 22ND JUL P2: 1:00PM
SAT 23RD JUL P3: 10:00AM
SAT 23RD JUL Q: 1:00PM
SUN 24TH JUL R: 1:00PM
*All times are BST*

2015 results:

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Current Championship:

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Predictions Championship

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Please can a mod bump this up to the sticky section and retire the British one to the history? Thanks.

 

Going for Hamilton, he likes this track, he's in the best car right now and he's got momentum on his side...
Red Bull to run them close and Ferrari, if they can switch their tyres on will also contend, should be a great "processional" race!

 

Agreed with Jonny, Hamilton likes this track, has the best car and everything seems to be going his way..... Lewis win for me.

 

I can't see past Hamilton.

 

Looking forward to Red Bull at this track and also to see how the Mclaren fares in the twisty sections.

Ricciardo to gain a much deserved win for me.

It can't be any more boring than the British GP!

 

I can see this one being much closer to call with Red Bull likely to do well.
Its Lewis once again for me.

 

I've had to go for Max. Have a feeling the Red Bulls might be quite competative here.

 

It could rain - maybe a RB result here? Lewis has had a great run but things can and do swing quickly.

 

hamilton by a mile.

Rosberg is rocking. the rest are too far back again.

 

Given Hamilton's performances here in the past, can see him getting the better of his team mate but the RedBull and Ferrari will be strong here.
Weather is meant to be nice and hot, hot track temps which could favour those two teams, if Merc can keep their tyres in the right working temps then yes, I expect them to just nic a win, but it'll be closer than most people think.

 

They might be. I fancy red bull more than ferrari but i just can see a grid lock out by mercedes and then really its down to the start and thats unpredictable.

I just think ferrari are finding it very very hard to get their car working and its too knife edge. Red bull with best chassis (IMO) should be a lot closer.

Deffo not the weekend for hamilton to need a penalty.

 

I'm not expecting Mercedes to have this all their own way. The biggest factor is likely to be tyre performance and I would not be at all surprised to see them needing one more stop than closest rivals.

Hungaroring's layout would seem well-suited to Red Bull's dancing car.
Mercedes' traction will probably sufficient to claim pole, especially in the hands of Hamilton, who seems to enjoy this most technical of circuits; but this traction can really punish tyres if set-up isn't 'just right'.
Aero-grip tends to improve tyre performance as well as extending useful life because, being pushed further into the track, tyre-slip is reduced. Tyre-slip tends to cause graining, which further reduces grip which leads to more tyre-slip and more graining…
For these reasons, Red Bull should find car set-up easier than Mercedes in particular. Its better balance should allow them to explore subtleties sooner, whilst the initial mind-set at Mercedes' will be to find a compromise between oversteer and understeer to limit tyre losses at all four corners of the car. Ferrari will probably be somewhere between the two.
Red Bull will probably be quicker than Ferrari – even over one lap – and may put a car on the front row.
Both Ferrari and Red Bull starts have tended to be better than Mercedes, and with this circuit presenting difficulties for overtaking, losing a place or two into Turns 1, 2 and 3, could be expensive.

Either way, strategists will be earning their money this weekend. Very flexible thinking-caps will be needed for at least Round 1 of the stops.

 

Careful Cosi that sounds like a potential race.....I'll brace myself for disappointment.

 

In response to Cosi's ever-excellent and very technical analysis, I offer my own. Hamilton, cos it's a Hamilton track innit?

 

Seems like FIA are cracking down on radio traffic. Now if you tell a driver he has a problem the driver must then come in to the pits for a fix or to retire!!!
Are they mad? That just encourages teams to take chances with drivers lives!

 

To add to that, he's got better at keeping his tyres in decent shape and added to the fact that it is "his" track, still makes him the man to beat, BUT.. as Cosi said.. if the Bulls get the right setup.. watch out!

 

Ugh the bureaucracy is real. So they have basically now gone back on it being ok to tell a driver there is a problem? I thought the issue with Nico was telling him to shift through 7th not the fact they told him the car was on the verge of going pop? Now they can't even do that without an effective stop and go penalty. Utterly ridiculous.

 

Just read that Merc have 'fixed' Nico's gearbox! I didn't realise that they were allowed to repair gearboxes. I thought they had to last 6 race weekends?

 

Tin hat at the ready!

P.S. Thanks but I'm sure your assessment is equally valid!
I didn't say anything new. – Just trying to present a sketch of basic thinking before a wheel is turned.

Yes, I agree that Hamilton has learned to control what he's doing with regard to tyres. It was a 'tortoise and hare' lesson learned a good while back, wasn't it? – essentially from Jenson Button. Your earlier point about temperatures is also very relevant.

I really do expect Red Bull to have a far easier time with set-up and be much less concerned about tyre preservation, whereas Mercedes will almost certainly have to be mindful of a smaller operating window and could be vulnerable to being pressurised into a pace beyond the limits of their tyres – unless they throw caution to the wind with a 'balls-out' strategy of blistering pace (perhaps literally! – although I think graining will be a bigger factor with Pirelli's current tyres) for an extra stop. So, if Red Bull's natural rhythm is not too far adrift and they can manage one stop less, they should have a very realistic chance of winning. And if all choose similar strategies, Mercedes' drivers may find themselves being pushed off a cliff…

As I mentioned before, the Ferrari chassis is probably somewhere between the Red Bull and the Mercedes, so if they get their act together, they could be in with a shout.