Racing Engineering looking to build on the success of the Nürburgring this weekend in Hungary

25/07/13 Racing Engineering looking to build on the success of the Nürburgring this weekend in Hungary.

It is three weeks since the last round of the 2013 GP2 Series and now the GP2 teams and drivers...

It is three weeks since the last round of the 2013 GP2 Series and now the GP2 teams and drivers are arriving in Hungary for round 7 of the season.

The 4.381km Hungaroring is situated near Budapest and, first built in 1986, it has undergone a number of alterations since then. The track itself is notable for its twisty, bumpy surface and it comprises 14 corners connected by some short straights making overtaking difficult.

Racing Engineering had a successful weekend at the Nürburgring where Fabio Leimer finished third and fourth in the two races and Julián Leal set the fastest lap in the Feature Race. The Spanish team have always been very competitive at the Hungaroring, scoring three second places in the last three years and, once again, both drivers will be targeting the podium and fighting hard to score as many points as possible this weekend.

Below Thomas Couyotopoulo, Sporting Director of Racing Engineering, looks back to the Nürburgring and forward to the Hungaroring:

The races at the Nürburgring were quite exciting for Racing Engineering with the tyre management being more crucial than during any other weekend this season so far. Were you happy with the outcome?

Both races in Germany showed some interesting strategies and on-track action, mostly related to the use and management of the tyres and set-up options for the Dallara GP2 single-seaters. We finished fourth on Saturday and third on the podium on Sunday with Fabio which is reasonably good. Julian could have done much better in Race 1 but some mistakes prevented him from showing his pace and the potential of the car. He turned this around though for race 2, where he finished 12th after starting from 22nd position on the grid.

This weekend the teams and drivers will encounter a quite different challenge. The Hungaroring is a very special track. Which are its most outstanding peculiarities?

The Hungaroring circuit is very different from the Silverstone and Nürburgring layouts, being the second slowest circuit of the championship in term of average speed. Another peculiarity is the fact that the track surface is quite bumpy and that the "rhythm" in terms of driving is quite intense, especially in sector 2, where the drivers need to constantly turn and prepare the car for the following corner; 8 turns within in a short distance. This also means that the overtaking areas are quite limited, so teams and drivers will have to take this into consideration during the whole weekend.

What does this small and bumpy layout mean for the drivers and teams? In what way does this affect the set up and also the management of the tyres?

The set-up of the car is very specific at this circuit as you always have to fine tune your basic adjustments to each parameter and get the maximum out of the available downforce, mechanical grip and balance. Obviously, the key point will again be the tyres, for the drivers and for the teams. This week promises to be very warm and the Pirelli Medium and Soft compounds might be the centre of attention again.

Fabio was able to score some points in Germany, Julian however, was not so lucky. What do you expect from the two Racing Engineering drivers during the upcoming weekend?

To be honest, in theory, the slow circuits are not the ones suiting our drivers the best, but we have proven in Monaco that things can change and the good preparation work that has been done with our engineers will help Julian and Fabio to perform very well this weekend. We therefore expect them to score points in both races and aim to finish on the podium.

Timetable:
Practice: Fri 26 Jul 2013, 12:00 (GMT+2)
Qualifying Session: Fri 26 Jul 2013, 15:55 (GMT+2)
Race 1: Sat 27 Jul 2013, 15:40 (GMT+2)
Race 2: Sun 28 Jul 2013, 10:35 (GMT+2)