Hungary 2017 - GP Preview - Williams Mercedes

The Hungaroring is located near to the capital city of Budapest and hosted its first Grand Prix in 1986. The Williams team has had a strong run of success at the “Magyar Nagydíj” as it’s more commonly referred to in Hungary, with seven race victories, the second highest of any Formula One team. The smallest winning margin at the Hungaroring came in 1990 at the hands of Williams’ Thierry Boutsen, who won by 0.288s over Ayrton Senna.

At 4.381 km in length, the track is one of the shortest on this year’s 20-race calendar.

In 2016, the team finished the race in ninth and 18th with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa respectively but hopes for a better result with the FW40 this year following 2017’s regulations changes.

Paddy Lowe

The Hungarian GP is a significant race. Firstly it is the last race before the summer break. All the teams look forward to the two-week shutdown in August, so the event has a real last-day-of-term feel about it, which we all enjoy. On top of that it is a terrific circuit set in its own amphitheatre, meaning fans can get good views of the action from many vantage points, which is quite unusual. The track itself is tricky technically, requiring high downforce and great suspension characteristics. Budapest is an extremely beautiful and interesting city. The combination of these attracts a great crowd over the weekend, not only from Hungary, but from many countries across Europe. From our point of view, we will do our very best to get another double points finish as we head into the summer break.

Felipe Massa

It’s always a great pleasure to race in Hungary. It’s a place that’s very important to me, because of the fans and because of everything that happened with my accident there. I have a lot of support from the people there. I love the place and always have a lot of pleasure to go back to Budapest to race.

Lance Stroll

This will be the third track in a row where I have raced before, and so I know what to expect. I was there last year in Formula 3 and had a podium position, so have some good memories. I think it is a great track, although, like Monaco, it is very narrow with lots of corners and not so many straights. Having said that, it is a track I like a lot, and that especially goes for the middle sector which is quite fast with a lot of left and right turns. It has been resurfaced recently, so the track is smooth. All in all it is a great circuit and Budapest is a cool city where I have had some fun.