This Section

Latest Pictures

28 July 2010

Williams technical director Sam Michael says he is hopeful of a 'decent performance' in the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.

While the team saw its recent run of strong points finishes come to an end in Germany last weekend, both Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg qualified inside the top ten before poor starts ended the duo’s chances of finishing in the points.

Speaking ahead of the Hungaroring race, Michael admitted that the team needed to work on improving its starts but said he was hopeful that both Barrichello and Hulkenberg would be able to fight for points in the final race before the summer break.

“The slow, traction-limiting corners of Budapest should suit the FW32 so we're going there expecting a decent performance,” he said. “We obviously have to make some improvements to our starts set-up, so we've been busy analysing and working on that since Germany.

“During Friday’s practice sessions, we will also be testing some new aero parts which we were unable to test in Germany because of the bad weather.”

Barrichello himself added that a good qualifying performance would be crucial to the team’s hopes of a strong weekend in Hungary and was confident that points were there to be had.

“I like the Hungaroring and I have won there in the past. Of course the most critical issue is that you have to qualify well to have a good race. The circuit requires a very different set-up and the track surface is pretty bumpy.

“We'll be looking to carry our present momentum on to Hungary. It is not as if we had a bad race last weekend - it is just that the rhythm and pace of everyone is pretty similar, but we ended up in a bad position on the track after the start. I am confident the speed is still with us, we will just need to work hard in Budapest to make sure we are at the front of the pack we are in.”