Hungarian GP: Midland F1 Online site preview

By Huw Alban
August 3 2006

I'm sure if I was to do a poll on this site asking fans how they felt after the German Grand Prix I get a unanimous 'disappointed' vote. Yes, Christijan was able to fight strongly for his position but overall there was not much to shout about.

One week later we are in Hungary, and a completely different venue to that of Hockenheim. The Hungaroring is often referred to as 'Monaco without the barriers' and quite often produces a processional race, but I actually really look forward to this race. For me, Hungary '97 where Damon Hill in an Arrows narrowly missed out on that team's first victory, takes some beating but it's a circuit that can produce the odd surprise or two.

This year, the majority of the teams and their cars are very close on performance. Hungary is a tight, twisty circuit and favours a nibble, well balanced chassis. Here engine power means nothing - it's all about brakes and drive out of the corners, oh and mega concentration from the drivers. I've played this circuit a lot on F1 2000, and despite it being a game it is so easy to misjudge your corner and move off the tarmac with the time lost being immense.

Despite the disappointments of Germany, there is definately an overall impression building that Midland F1 are moving forward. In recent races they have been able to compete convincingly for a top 16 grid slot. From the British Grand Prix onwards both the two drivers have had occasions where they were able to challenge for positions and/or close in on the competitors in front of them. The German Grand Prix has, I suppose, been the only hiccup in that progress curve. In speaking to the team during the race weekend and after it, it appears that they were 'baffled' by the lack of competitiveness of the M16 at the Hockenheim track however they did pull things together enough for Christijan to put in a strong race performance there.

I was tremendously impressed with the speed with which the team published an interview with James Key over their disqualification from the German Grand Prix. It is clear in that conversation, that the team did not deliberately set out to break the rules but were simply the victims of old parts moving a little too much.

I'm still curious over the sensibility of the decision to ban the team from the race results though. It wasn't as if the team gained a performance advantage as a result of these parts - after all they finished in the last two places! Should we be worried about the M16's legality for this weekend? I think not. "It’s a simple fix that’s not going to affect performance anyway," James said in his interview. Enough said in my book.

So, what can Midland do to recover their momentum as we now head into the F1 Test ban period? Well, James seems confident. "We think that Hungary will suit our car's characteristics better than Hockenheim, or even Magny-Cours, for that matter," he said in the team's official preview. With all of the tight corners there is every chance of other competitors making mistakes and having off track moments, which can seriously benefit at team like Midland F1.

One small grain of fear though. Those talented people in Leafield who have, so quickly, put together the Super Aguri SA06 undoubtledly also had some input into the affore mentioned 1997 Arrows chassis. Takuma Sato may be a little wild at times, but he is a talented driver, and fate says that this'll be the one race where he finds his groove this season and gets it together on the race track...

Have a good one everyone.

Show your support for Midland F1 Racing by clicking on the banner above and signing up.