Uralkali Haas F1 Team rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, go into their final round of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break.
The venue for this weekend is of course the Hungaroring which has featured on the FIA Formula One World Championship calendar for the past thirty-five years, dating back to 1986.
The circuit holds many special memories for Schumacher, who in 2019 claimed his first ever Formula 2 win at the venue. Victory is certainly off the cards this weekend for the young German who will be doing all he can to qualify and finish as high as possible.
“This track has always been very good to me, I’ve always had a very nice experience. There are great fans but also the results were not always that bad. It’s a track that I always look forward to, and it always concludes a chapter as it’s the race just before the summer break, so for everyone it’s a nice time to come together and then everybody gets to have some time off.
“It’s a great track – it’s a dominant qualifying track – so usually where you qualify is usually where you start and where you end the race, mainly because there’s a lack of straights but also because DRS isn’t as effective, but it’s a great track to drive. It has a nice flow to it and usually it’s quite warm which is nice.
This weekend is also the final round before the summer break, an important time for all involved in Formula 1 to relax.
“For me personally, I would like to keep on racing as that’s where I enjoy being but on the other hand, I also think for everybody in Formula 1 – because those days are long days. It’s not a 9-5 job, they’re hard and long days that we have to endure. For everyone involved I think it’s a good thing that we get two weeks off to be able to not open laptops, not look at phones and just relax and have some time off.
“For sure I will do the same to be able to come back even stronger at the end of the summer break and really attack going into the triple-header of Spa, Zandvoort and Monza – straight away back into business.”
“Hungaroring is a cool place to be at” – Nikita Mazepin
The Hungaroring has also been a happy hunting ground for Mazepin, the Russian claimed victory at the circuit in 2018 whilst racing in GP3. Like his team-mate, Mazepin likes the circuit and is hoping the team can make the most of the weekend.
“Hungaroring is a cool place to be at. It’s normally very hot so it’s quite physically demanding but after it’s been resurfaced a few years back, this track provides a lot of grippy conditions with the new tarmac and I’ve always enjoyed driving there, although racing there might be a little difficult.
“The realistic target for the team is to try and maximize our performance in Hungaroring. This track does need a lot of downforce and grip because there’s a lot of high-speed corners. There, the minimal speed is the key so we will try to maximise what we’ve got.”
