A goal before the holidays
It’s been since the Monaco Grand Prix that Haas hasn’t finished any race in the points, with the American team trying to break this streak of negative results at the Hungaroring, the last commitment before the summer break. On this circuit, where the first edition of the Hungarian GP took place forty years ago (becoming the first event to host F1 beyond the Iron Curtain in 1986, in a race that also saw Piquet’s memorable overtake on the outside of Senna in a controlled slide), Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon will try to give their best after the contact at the start of the last Belgian GP, with both forced to return to the pits due to a puncture.
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In a weekend where high temperatures are traditionally expected on a slow and winding circuit, Bearman will obviously have as its main goal to return to the top ten, which it hasn’t reached since Montreal: “It would be very easy, considering our current form, to think that we are counting the days until the summer break, but honestly, all this team wants is to finish the first half of the season as best as possible. This week I won’t be participating in FP1, with Ryō by my side, so I’m looking forward to being able to follow a session from a different perspective and also get his opinion, as his feedback is crucial. It’s a technical circuit, with some similarities to a kart track, but you need a lot of downforce to be fast at the Hungaroring. Right now, my goal is to maintain the level of consistency I’ve shown lately and keep the team’s morale high during this difficult period. Everyone is working their hardest to find the best performance and I’m very proud of that; It’s all you can ask for.”
Sweet Hungarian memories
The same mission, that of the top-10, also applies to Ocon, who at the Hungaroring reached the highest point of his career in 2021, securing his first and only F1 victory at the wheel of the Alpine: “Hungary is one of my favorite race weekends of the year. I can’t wait to drive on track and every year, when I go there, the atmosphere is fantastic thanks to the great support from the Hungarian fans. I had my best day in Formula 1 at the Hungaroring in 2021, so it’s always a very special moment to return there. The city really comes alive during race week and that makes the atmosphere even better. I can’t wait to go back and I hope we can have a good weekend.”
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Also noteworthy is the choice officially announced by Haas for FP1: here too, as in the Austrian Grand Prix, reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, two-time WEC world champion and winner of the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, will take to the track. While at the Red Bull Ring he took Ocon’s place, this time the Japanese driver will be at the wheel of Bearman‘s VF-26.
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