Permain: It is important to find the optimal approach to soft tires

Visa RB are preparing for the race at the Hungaroring in the hope of earning points, but they understand that to do so they will have to overcome serious challenges, typical of the Hungarian stage of the season.

Daniel Ricciardo: “I had a great week after Silverstone. I spent some time resting, training and working productively in the simulator and I feel ready for the stage in Budapest.

I always like to come there. I had already won the Hungarian Grand Prix and it was at the Hungaroring that I drove my first race after returning to AlphaTauri. You could say that the sun always shines there!

“Now our team is mainly focused on performing as well as possible on a circuit that is very different from Silverstone. The speeds are much lower there and the temperatures are higher. It will be very important to work effectively in the first practice on Friday, after which we will continue to attack on Sunday and try to score points.”

Yuki Tsunoda: “I did some simulator training last week and the whole team has been working hard since Silverstone. I am optimistic, I believe the weekend in Hungary can be good for us. We know in which direction we need to work to increase the speed of the car.

At the Hungaroring most of the corners are slow or medium speed, and Budapest is always very hot in July. The nature of the track is such that there is no time to catch your breath, because you have to turn the steering wheel all the time.

This means that the physical demands this weekend will be high, but I expect we can perform competitively on the Hungarian circuit and I am ready for that.”

Alan PermainRacing Director: “For the Budapest circuit, with its slow and medium-speed corners, we are once again returning to a car configuration that provides high downforce.

The Hungaroring not only puts a lot of pressure on the equipment and the drivers, but also on the tyres. Pirelli will bring the softest rubber compounds to Hungary and one of the challenges is to find the optimal approach to the soft tyres to achieve maximum grip during qualifying, and that this level of grip does not decrease during the 14 corners of the circuit. Despite the fact that the asphalt temperature can exceed 50 degrees.

The cars need to be set up so that the front wheels grip the track well in the long, slow corners and in the sudden changes of direction in the twisty second sector. We also need to ensure that the drive wheels provide excellent grip on the exit of the last two corners, so that we can accelerate effectively on the start-finish straight and finish the lap well.”