Question: Nelson scored the team’s first podium of the season in Germany. The whole team must be delighted…
Pat Symonds: Obviously the result was welcome, as were the points. So far this season we seem to have been talking about unfulfilled promise with the car, and, although luck played a part in this result, we certainly feel that it makes up for some of the times in the last few races where the luck hasn’t gone our way. It’s great for Nelson as he’s had a tough time in the first half of the year, and I certainly hope that this is a turning point for him. But, we have to be realistic, there’s still a tough fight ahead of us, and Toyota and Red Bull Racing are still very competitive so we need to continue working hard. But at least we have grabbed a bag full of points, and the performance of the car should allow us to fight for fourth position in the championship.
Question: Looking ahead to this weekend’s race, can you tell us about the challenges of racing at the Hungaroring?
Pat Symonds: It’s a difficult track, which is often quite dirty for the first day of practice, and so you spend a lot of time sliding around with the car, understeering mid-corner and oversteering on corner entry and exit. But you just have to stick with it and wait for the track to come to you. In terms of downforce it’s a very high downforce track and it’s also pretty hard on the tyres due to the traction zones out of the low-speed corners. The tight and twisty nature of the track makes overtaking extremely difficult and so getting a good grid position for both cars will be a higher than normal priority for all teams.
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