“We go there feeling optimistic,” confirmed the régie’s executive director of engineering Pat Symonds. “The car was quick in high-downforce trim in Monaco and, since then, we have added performance to it. We experienced problems getting the tyres working properly in the cooler conditions at the Nürburgring, but this is unlikely to be a problem in the high temperatures we usually encounter in Hungary.
“While the timesheets placed us eleventh and twelfth in terms of fastest laps in Germany, I think our pace was actually much better than that suggested; the fact our strategy was somewhat out of synch with our competitors may have masked some of our pace. We made mistakes early in the race, and they cost us a very strong double points finish. It was made all the more frustrating because it was the type of race in which we normally excel. We are good at thinking on our feet and making the right decisions under pressure, but our mistakes seemed to compound themselves in Germany.
“Since then, we have conducted our usual analysis in even greater detail than normal to ensure we learn everything we can from the experience – and to make sure our mistakes remain one-offs. Everybody is very focused for the weekend ahead, and determined to demonstrate that although frustrating, the last race was nothing more than an extremely annoying blip in performance.”
If the squad’s fortunes have dipped somewhat of late, though, Heikki Kovalainen’s have gone from strength-to-strength during his maiden campaign in the highest echelon. A shaky start has given way to a string of mature performances, and the young Finn has now registered points-scoring finishes in six out of the opening ten races this year.
“The Hungaroring is a fun track to drive” the 25-year-old enthused. “I found out in GP2 how difficult it is to overtake here, and it means like in Monaco it is absolutely essential to qualify well. If we can do that we will be in a position to run an aggressive race and try to score more points.
