848 replies to this topic

[FerrariAlonso]

I promise I will give my best to provide you with the latest news from the track at this weekend.
I have just arrived at home from the pit lane walk.

Weather: it was drizzling at times and there were lots of clouds with around 26-27 degrees. Better weather is predicted for the weekend. If the weather returnes which we have had all through the summer so far,we will have around 32-35 degrees with lots of sunshines.

I took lots of pictures, but because of the incredible crowd it was almost impossible to take high-quality photos. Later I will upload some of them.

Some pieces of information:
-Sebastian was probably the most friendly man this year again. He climed the corridor to go to us to give some extra signatures.
-Felipe was in a very good mood, he dropped lots of autogramm cards into the crowd.
-Fernando shook hands with Jenson and Lewis when he sat down to the table.
-Ferrari kept two separate meetings in the box, one for the Fernando's engineers and one for Felipe's.
-Felipe had a seat-position test, after that he was chatting with Rob.
-Hirohide Hamashima seems to be very precise and hard-working, he checked every single (!!!!) rubber.
-Ferrari had extra tyres for pit-stop practices
-McLaren were working very hard on fine-tuning the tyre-camber settings and ride-height
-Red Bull and Mercedes were practicing the pit-stops very intensively.
-Red Bull were very-very constant at their pit stop simulations, the change of the four tyres were finished almost at the same time. They practiced the nose cone-change, as well
-Some teams, including Ferrari, Marussia, Caterham and Williams had two types of front wings
-Ferrari had two pieces of the old front wing and two of the new which have been already tested in Valencia, Silverstone and Hockenheim.
-I bet Ferrari will give the new wing a try and opt for it.
-the Ferrari-mechanics are very friendly, some of them talked to us and let Felipe write a signature for a girl:)
-the track surface is very smooth and very precisely cleaned up, I am sure there won't take too much time to rubber the track in which was typical for the Hungaroring for the past
-despite Kubica's absence there were so many Polish fans on the track. Maybe they support Kuba Germaziak in the Porsche SuperCup.

Edited by FerrariAlonso, 26 July 2012 - 20:51.

[Kvothe]

-Ferrari kept two separate meetings in the box, one for the Fernando's engineers and one for Felipe's.

Interesting...

[FerrariAlonso]

Interesting...

The mechanics were chatting and joking with each other, they all were in very good mood.

[BetaVersion]

Thanks FerrariAlonso! That very interesting inside info ;)

Keep up the good job!

[Risil]

-despite Kubica's absence there were so many Polish fans on the track. Maybe they support Kuba Germaziak in the Porsche SuperCup.

[zachary2142]

-despite Kubica's absence there were so many Polish fans on the track. Maybe they support Kuba Germaziak in the Porsche SuperCup.

AFAIK there are four Polish drivers in Porsche Supercup now - maybe they are their fans?

[LB]

27 years? really god I feel old, i remember the first!

[FerrariAlonso]

Some pieces of information from today:

Free practice one:
-Felipe did constant-speed aero-test for some laps
-Force India did the same
-two teams - Caterham and Red Bull let a kind of off-throttle/hot blowing sound. The Caterham's one is extremely loud, almost as last year, the Red Bull's one is much louder. That comes while accelerating, in second-third gear. Lotus engine map must be much less aggressive despite the same engine. I thought the new rule regarding the engine map will prevent Caterham and Red Bull from doing it.
-McLaren's, Ferrari's, RB's and Lotus's drivers brake very late into turn 8 and let the car slow down with shifting down one gear, that usually makes the car unstable at the rear, that's why other teams' driver can't afford doing it
-Williams are very strong at high-speed corners, but stuggle for traction and struggle for front end grip
-Lotus is very-very stable in low-speed corners, but suffer from oversteer in high-speed turn such as in turn 10
-Sauber have problems with traction out of turn 7
-Alonso was quite unconsistent from one lap to another, but that should be down to the constant changes of aero parts
-in turn 8 Button was the best by far, he kept the car flowing through the corner, most of the other had a "break"

Free practice two:

-Virgin and HRT had to hesitate while accelerating, that is the area where they lose so much
-Lotus had very good traction again
-Ferrari's drivers always opted for another line into turn 10. All drivers approached the corner much wider, Fernando and Felipe did it close to the inside, they trusted in the rear of the car, that's why they could turn the car pretty aggressively into the corner. The F2012 is very stable in high-speed corners.
-Alonso had flow viz painted onto his car in the second session again which is quite unusual.
-Fernando struggled for traction and front end grip.
-the Mercedes had some understeer while turning into turn 8.
-McLaren and Lotus had the best traction again
-Lewis was incredibly stable in the whole session, but had oversteer in turn 10 when he fitted the softer compound. He demanded too much from the rear end of the car on soft.
-RAIN: as already mentioned, Red Bull and Caterham have been playing around with the engine map and that was more obvious in the rain. Ferrari had the same engine sound, Toro Rosso must have had another engine map in the rain.

-Red Bull? They didn't show anything special, didn't have any particular problems in any types of corner, but weren't simply fast enough. Maybe they simply lack of some pure pace or were cruising with more fuel on board.

Edited by FerrariAlonso, 27 July 2012 - 20:07.

[FerrariAlonso]

My obersvation from today:
-I guess Red Bull slightly modified the engine map from yesterday to today, the sound was much more similiar to Caterham than yesterday.
-Fernando was all over the place, he had understeer into low-speed corners and was very inconsistent
-Felipe handled the car with more confidence and consistency
-Lewis was sliding at some places, but overall he was the fastest
-just from judging based on the car's behaviour the Lotus were the best and easiest to drive

[Antonov]

any news on what the weather will do tomorrow?

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

any news on what the weather will do tomorrow?

2 words. Knife edge. It's on a knife edge. We could get away with a totally dry race, but it could be hit by showers or by thundery downpours, more likely later in the race. The risk of storms is definitely there, but it's impossible to predict with any degree of certainty. The best way to describe it is hot with a chance of showers/storms. Even tomorrow morning it'll likely still be in a knife edge situation. It's likely going to be a case of radar watching all day basically.

[korzeniow]

@FerrariAlonso, great job thanks!

[Mandzipop]

Aviation forecast for tomorrow:-

Temporary 14:00 (29.) to 20:00 (29.)

variable at 20 knots
gusting to 35 knots
5000m
squalls, showers rain, thunderstorms rain
scattered clouds at 15000 feet
broken clouds at 4000 feet cumulonimbus

So if that makes much sense to anyone there you go.

My guess is a safety car and a red flag due to the weather at some point during the race if that weather prediction is even remotely accurate.

[Mandzipop]

Posts deleted. This not a thread about the unluckiest driver of the season.

[fisssssi]

A bit of rain or even just some cooler temperatures will spice up the race tomorrow. I get the impression that a lot of cars struggled with the heat during qualifying today.

[korzeniow]

A bit of rain or even just some cooler temperatures will spice up the race tomorrow. I get the impression that a lot of cars struggled with the heat during qualifying today.

Well, maby it would spice up the race but it most definately wouldn't spice up the WDC title battle because that would be another win for Alonso since Ferrari cars are superior in wet and cold weather conditions. So, better watch you wish for

[kazimriz]

Well, maby it would spice up the race but it most definately wouldn't spice up the WDC title battle because that would be another win for Alonso since Ferrari cars are superior in wet and cold weather conditions. So, better watch you wish for

Let Alonso/Ferrari win all races. Why not ? They deserve it much like anyone else. Otherwise, Lewis for the win tomorrow, or Kimi. And an Alonso crash would be lovely just to see the look on his face. Dry conditions, Lotus Vs Mclaren.

[Balths]

Let Alonso/Ferrari win all races. Why not ? They deserve it much like anyone else. Otherwise, Lewis for the win tomorrow, or Kimi. And an Alonso crash would be lovely just to see the look on his face. Dry conditions, Lotus Vs Mclaren.

Harsh. A DNF for Alonso would be interesting as it would bring the WDC fight back into play. But even if it doesn't happen in this half of the Championship, it will happen in the next. Alonso's luck will balance out.

I actually think Lotus will take the win if it stays dry, Grogro might undercut Lewis, Jenson normally tends to come through the race well. Lewis must pray for stable conditions, if the rain holds, coupled with the difficult overtaking on the Hungaroring, it could be a straight lights to flag victory for Lewis.

[DaddyCool]

Heavy rains in Hungary atm.

[Atreiu]

Still raining.

[Kerch]

Any webcams near the circuit?

[beefree88]

Any webcams near the circuit?

http://www.alltravel...pest-fele-29335

[Starish]

Pretty sure this race will get half points if it continues like this.

[aray]

if it is raining now perhaps race will be dry...though i want a wet race..

[Sergino]

very heavy rain at Budapest at the moment

[Jimisgod]

wetracewetracewetracewetrace

[beefree88]

if it is raining now perhaps race will be dry...though i want a wet race..

Current prediction is somewhat less rain in the morning, than again more rainy stormy in the afternoon.

[nemtudom]

It has just stopped raining where I live (about 15 km from the track), the sky is starting to clear up. This afternoon's weather is pretty unpredictable looking at various forecasts, it seems showers could turn up any time, but possibly only after the race.

Edit: I hear it's still pouring down at the Hungaroring.

Edited by nemtudom, 29 July 2012 - 06:31.

[Sakae]

Is RF possible then due to ambient conditions?

[aray]

It has just stopped raining where I live (about 15 km from the track), the sky is starting to clear up. This afternoon's weather is pretty unpredictable looking at various forecasts, it seems showers could turn up any time, but possibly only after the race.

what is the expected temperature during race....?

[nemtudom]

what is the expected temperature during race....?

Very warm, around 30°C or above.

[topical]

Far too early to call it a wet race. Chances of rain due to diminish as the day goes on.

[nemtudom]

Far too early to call it a wet race. Chances of rain due to diminish as the day goes on.

Agreed, as I said I live in Budapest, 15 km from the track, and the sun is already shining here now, with the roads drying up. They do expect another storm today, but it can arrive only after 4 or 5 pm. Then again, it can come down at exactly 2 pm - the weather changes far too fast, you can't really predict what's gonna happen in five or six hours' time.

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

The chances of rain aren't due to diminish as the day goes on. The risk will only reduce significantly until lunchtime, when the risk will rise once again. All the forecasts for the best part of a week now have said there's at least a 50/50 chance of showers/storms during the race window. It'll likely start dry, but it'd be foolish to rule out any chance of showers/storms during the race, because the risk is most definitely there.

[topical]

The chances of rain aren't due to diminish as the day goes on. The risk will only reduce significantly until lunchtime, when the risk will rise once again. All the forecasts for the best part of a week now have said there's at least a 50/50 chance of showers/storms during the race window. It'll likely start dry, but it'd be foolish to rule out any chance of showers/storms during the race, because the risk is most definitely there.

Several sites I consulted talk about a 30% chance of T-storms. So yes, a "risk", but hardly the guaranteed wet race that some people are already celebrating. That was my point. Also we all know that in F1 rain predictions are hideously unreliable. Unitl you actually see a wet track, assume it stays dry.

Edited by topical, 29 July 2012 - 07:32.

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

Not guaranteed to be wet, no, but the risk will be increasing during the afternoon.

[sniper80]

No rain and 35 degrees till 22h in the evening.

[Bartel]

Track is wet fo gp2 hopefully it dries out for the race

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

Track is wet fo gp2 hopefully it dries out for the race

The track was wet at the start of the GP3 race but slicks were needed at half distance. With 2 more support races, plus it being very hot, the track will be bone dry at the start unless it rains just before the start.

[RC127]

The track was wet at the start of the GP3 race but slicks were needed at half distance. With 2 more support races, plus it being very hot, the track will be bone dry at the start unless it rains just before the start.

Pics from pit lane at end of podium ceremony in the GP3 race would appear it is raining again.

Greasy/wet GP2 sprint race?

Yes please!

[MortenF1]

Most sites says any chance of rain is very small, and if anything, we're talking around two millimetres, which will only disappear into the tarmac. But, one site is on the opposite end completely, saying quite substantial amounts of rain.

[aray]

sky is blue and track is dry with no cloud in sight...that's the start of GP 2 race...

[ferenc_k]

Most sites says any chance of rain is very small, and if anything, we're talking around two millimetres, which will only disappear into the tarmac. But, one site is on the opposite end completely, saying quite substantial amounts of rain.

There is a so called "orange" weather warning for the whole country from the national weather service, because of the possibility of very heavy thunderstorms and torrential rain and even potential ice in the afternoon. Ice is predicted for the northern, northern east part of the country only.

[jrg19]

Looks very dry atm.

[Massa]

So we already know there is no dirty side, thanks to the rain. Perfect for Alonso.

[flyer121]

RG and Lew fight cud be interesting ... But as long as lewis gets a good start i think he will drop the rest of the grid

[vlado]

Is it raining ?

what happened to the live weather service autosport use to offer.. i liked that.

[RC127]

MB just tweeted that teams expecting heavy rain during the race.

Probable red flag conditions, if only for a short while (a la Nurburgring 2007), most likely scenario?

[Markn93]

MB just tweeted that teams expecting heavy rain during the race.

Probable red flag conditions, if only for a short while (a la Nurburgring 2007), most likely scenario?

I saw that and was surprised as Mclaren had just posted this - https://twitter.com/...501628531748865

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

Is it raining ?

what happened to the live weather service autosport use to offer.. i liked that.

It's dry. Any rain will be in the afternoon. The weather is now covered here (by the same guy that did the Autosport Live weather forecasts): http://f1weather.com/