[NeilP]

Having spent the best part of the week tied up in the aftermath of the British GP its time to move on to Hungary.

This is always a race that is pretty much dominated by pole position as overtaking is at a huge premium and usually only into the first corner.  The race dates back to 1986 and was the first F1 venue to be behind the then so called "Iron Curtain".  In its early years the race was dominated by Williams yet strangely enough Nigel Mansells only win here was in a Ferrari.  In recent times the race has been dominated by Mercedes and in particular Lewis Hamilton who has won here no less than 8 times.

The big question I think to be answered here is how is Max Verstappens mindset after that very large impact which is to my memory the biggest of his career to date. Perhaps it is to his benefit that outside of the first corner there are very few challenging places on the circuit and wheel to wheel racing will be at an absolute minimum.  Personally I am sad about that I wanted to see how he would react to some hard racing but I guess we are going to be kept waiting for quite a while for that to transpire.

I think Mercedes improved their car at the British GP but my gut feeling still tells me the Red Bull is still superior and in the hands of Verstappen at least still ahead of Mercedes in most departments.  As has been the case for so long the more competitive battles will be further down the field.  Ferrari have won here twice in recent times through Sebastian Vettel and their dual with McLaren is set to continue and may well be the race within the race we will enjoy the most.  I have a sneeky suspicion Fernando Alonso may well be set for a good race here too.

No bold predictions from me other to say I will be surprised all things being equal if the pole position does not win the race. This is a track however where rain can make the track come alive and I would not mind seeing that but to be honest generally I am not a outside agency lover for racing.  Lst race for a month, I hate this layoff but understand the reasons behind it. I have a feeling this will not last many more years under Liberty because its lost revenue at a crucial time of the year and we know its all about maximising the mighty coffers of the company.

Hope everyone is well. Looking forward to seeing Morini get his ass back in gear, on track and with fewer pitstops!!

Stay safe everyone.