By Will Gray, England
Atlas F1 Technical Writer

After the flowing Hockenheim circuit with its long straights and tight chicanes, the teams head to the twisty Hungaroring knowing that it will be a complete turn-around with aerodynamics and engine power swapping priorities. Will Gray previews the event

Fresh from a three-week testing break, the Formula One circus will be eager to get going again and as the teams begin the five race run-in to the end of the season there will be no shortage of development.

The testing break may have caused problems for Jean Alesi and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, leaving them unable to complete more than 50km of track distance with their new outfits, but the teams will still have been able to develop modifications at the factories. Some of the lesser-funded squads may have to use the first practice session at the Hungarian circuit to test their new pieces, although several of the teams have already tested.

It is interesting to note that Ferrari's wheeze which takes advantage of the rules to allow one 50km shakedown test of the cars despite the testing ban has been taken up by many more of the teams on the grid because of the break. Even Minardi have had a run-out at Fiorano to test their new gearbox developments so you can rest assured no team will have stood still during their time away from the tracks.

The Hungaroring requires almost as much downforce on the car as the Monaco street circuit, with an average race lap speed of 111.111 mph (178 km/h) compared to Hockenheim's 146.376 mph (233 km/h) last year, with Monaco's average speed being 92.415 mph (147 km/h).

The lower average speed means that the teams have to crank up the wing angles and add on extra aerodynamic aids. Watch out for the sprouting of engine cover mounted wings on cars such as the Benetton, and there could also be some more surprises as teams will have had several months to think up new ideas to get around the rules.

In Monaco, Jordan and Arrows both introduced strange wings mounted in front of the driver. Arrows' was a like a mini rear wing above the tip of the nose, which the team claimed gave an extra three percent of downforce, and Jordan's was a T-shaped wing right in front of the cockpit. Those were banned almost as soon as they hit the track, but the clever engineers are sure to have thought up some more cunning ideas that might escape the net this time.

One such idea that did survive the Monaco banning was a wing spanning the width of the rear wing and mounted virtually on the engine cover in front of the rear wing itself. Those solutions, which were used by both Arrows and BAR, are sure to make a re-appearance at the Hungaroring. But with the slow speeds, using the air to force the car downwards is only one important factor of the aerodynamics and the teams must ensure they have adequate through-flow to cool the engines.

Surprisingly there was just one engine failure in Monaco, that being the Honda of Jarno Trulli. The teams know that the cooling is important on these type of circuits, however, and they are certain to open out the exits at the rear of the sidepods to ensure the temperatures do not boil over.

The lack of long straights on the circuit, perhaps even fewer in Hungary that in Monaco, means that the cars do not have any time when they have high speed air being pumped through the system, and with temperatures always high at the Hungaroring it means cooling will be critical for both the car and the drivers.

They will, of course, be thankful for the chance to relax and train to get into top condition during the three-week break because the circuit is very demanding due to the constant twisting and turning, and it is perhaps more important than ever that the car is working well to minimise the effort the drivers have to put in during the energy sapping race.

Tyre grip goes along with aerodynamics as one of the most important factors on the circuit, and that means traction control systems will be critical for success. So too will the tyres themselves and after the Bridgestone-shod runners suffered blistering problems in Germany - Coulthard's car was ripping holes in its tyres after just one lap - the high temperatures could see the balance weighed up in favour of Michelin this time around.

That said, Williams are not promising much competition for Ferrari or McLaren this weekend as it is not a power-dominated circuit and if McLaren cannot halt their slide in form it could be Ferrari all the way.

As with Monaco, it is essential to have a good qualifying session at the Hungaroring as overtaking on the narrow track is quite difficult. That will mean strategy over the entire race weekend, not just race strategy, will be important and could turn out to decide the winner if the top teams go for different tyre selection for qualifying.

In the race, too, the number of pit stops is sure to be varied amongst the front runners if any suffer poor qualifying runs. Even if they do not, we could see McLaren and Ferrari putting their drivers on different strategies - one on one stop, one on two - as team orders come into play.

Mika Hakkinen, of course, can no longer mathematically win the Championship and his McLaren teammate David Coulthard will be looking for help to round Ferrari's red wall if his team's poor qualifying performance continues to hamper his slim chances of stealing Schumacher's world crown.

But if the heat is on, and the Bridgestones perform, then Ferrari's well-practiced team orders and their near infallible (Silverstone excepted) strategies could hand Schumacher the edge and allow him to equal Alain Prost's record number of Grand Prix wins and in doing so claim the 2001 Championship as his own.