Virgin expect to continue strong progress in Hungary
This weekend the stunning European city of Budapest will play host to the Hungarian Grand Prix, Round 12 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. This is also the last round before the sport embarks on its Summer shutdown, designed to give the teams some respite from the 19 race calendar and enable them to embark on the final seven-race stint of the season with renewed vigour.
Virgin Racing is optimistic heading into the weekend after a strong race day performance in Hockenheim last weekend. Although a broken suspension part ultimately brought Lucas’ race to an early conclusion, the pace of the cars underlined the real performance step that the last three rounds of developments have brought to the continually-improving VR-01.
Timo Glock, Race Driver #24:
“The Hungaroring is a nice mix of slow-speed and high-speed turns and has a good rhythm. It’s non-stop and we seem to be gripping the steering wheel the whole of the lap with no easing up on the hands. It’s a great track and one I enjoy. I also scored my first podium here in 2008. As the weekend goes on the track tends to improve quite a lot as more rubber goes down and this means the lap time can be quite different from the start of the weekend to the end. This can make it difficult to evaluate set-up changes. Budapest is a fantastic city and there is a great atmosphere during the weekend - it’s definitely one of the best venues on the calendar. I’m looking forward to the race. We took another step forward in terms of performance last weekend but we have to make sure the run up to the race is smoother so we can maximise every possibility.”
Lucas di Grassi, Race Driver #25:
“As usual I have done a lot of work in the simulator to prepare for the Hungaroring. It’s a pretty physical track which I know well from racing in GP2 here but it’s good fun to drive. It is usually pretty hot here but the weather is looking a bit changeable this week, which is unusual for Budapest. In the German GP I was running second only to Kovalainen until a suspension problem forced me to retire. But the underlying positive is that the car is performing well and our pace is good, so I think I can be optimistic for a good race here this weekend and hopefully finish ahead of Lotus.”
John Booth, Team Principal:
“It’s been another tight turnaround as we packed up the garage and trucks and headed east to Hungary in the space of just two days. What we are hoping for now is a strong performance at the Hungaroring as a just reward for the incredible hard work that has gone into our debut season so far by everyone in the team. ”
Nick Wirth, Technical Director:
"Hungary is a track where we expect to continue our strong recent progress. We're determined to avoid the type of problems that stopped us qualifying well in Hockenheim, and the nature of the circuit should enable us to have a strong showing compared to our new-team rivals. Our development geeks have come up with yet more upgrades for this track and I know that both drivers and their crews are very motivated right now, so we look forward to another weekend of solid progress."
