Hungaroring And The A1 Ring

Even the world’s fastest (alright, one of the) sport can make time come to a standstill and that’s what Rishi and I felt in three weeks between the 2013 German Grand Prix and this weekend’s 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix. One can only imagine what will happen to us in the ‘August shutdown’ period coming in a few days.

After a week’s break, Rishi and I met last evening to record this week’s episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. The best news in the break was the return of the A1 Ring (or now the Red Bull Racing) circuit which has hosted the Austrian Grand Prix in the past seasons. A great circuit, with fast flowing corners, deers (yes!) and elevation changes was a major discussion in this edition of our Formula1 podcast. And of course, with the historic and memorable Hungarian GP this weekend, we discuss the usual and the different, come hear more on the podcast. (YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/Dkmqw9hAQEA)

A1 Ring aka Red Bull Ring (courtesy: Wikipedia)
  • Magyar Nagydij, nearly 15 years of watching the race in Budapest and I am still unable to pronounce that. Are you? (Unless of course you are one of our Hungarian listeners!)
  • A1 Ring is back on the calendar for the 2014 Formula1 Season. So will we have 22 races next season? We try and do some math. And drop a circuit or two. Do our choices match?
  • And also, isn’t there something with the ‘ring’s in F1? Nurburgring, Hockenheimring and now the A1 Ring. We pick a few classic circuits that should have ‘ring’ as the suffix?
  • The Hungarian GP has been a historic and a memorable one. We discuss the memories that we have of the circuit.
  • And this venue has recorded ‘first’ victories for many drivers. Here’s our pick of a driver(s) who should register his ‘first’ win this weekend.
  • Like Mercedes, we too were banned from attending the Young Drivers’ Test last week in Silverstone (Here’s why: Our Secret Tyre Test With Pirelli). However, expect a change in tyre strategy this weekend onwards and we explain why!
  • Vettel’s won three back to back Drivers’ Championships, but is yet to win in Hungary. Yes, there are circuits such as the Hungaroring where Vettel is yet to stamp his authority. Will it be this weekend?
  • Alonso and Ferrari haven’t won here in 10 and 9 years respectively. Will they be on the top step? What are your predictions?

Given the linguistic barriers, one of our listeners Simon Peter from Budapest was kind enough to share a guide for all attending the Hungarian GP this weekend. You can access it here ‘Getting to Hungaroring’.

From Hungaroring To A1 Ring by Inside Line F1 Podcast on Mixcloud

The Inside Line F1 Podcast is now available on various platforms and I would urge you to choose your platform to listen to the humour that we add to the otherwise serious and complex sport of Formula1.

If you are an Apple user, you can subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on the iTunes Podcast Store or via our RSS feed (for Android / Windows / Blackberry users).

The Inside Line Formula1 Podcast is produced by Rishi Kapoor and Kunal Shah. Follow us on Twitter and on our Soundcloud, MixCloud and YouTube channels.

Kunal Shah is an FIA-accredited Formula 1 journalist who has been reporting on Formula 1 for nearly two decades. He worked with the Force India Formula 1 Team for 6 seasons in Marketing, Sponsorship and Commercial roles. As a former single-seater racer, he was responsible for Force India's grassroots talent program, One from a Billion Hunt. Presently, he co-writes a regular Formula 1 column for Firstpost, speaks on Inside Line F1 Podcast & Pits to Podium and produces broadcast/OTT content for NENT Group (Viasport & Viaplay).

3 comments On Hungaroring And The A1 Ring

  • Hey, good podcast! Lots of history and interesting brand new news on the addition of Red Bull Ring!
    Hungaroring rhymes with ‘kangaroo ring’…HaHa
    Good one on Montoya de’a’r!!
    I think Buddh circuit is very vulnerable because of the significant drop in attendance…Bernie on an interview dated 2011 said – in any new circuit, the first year – the attendance will be good because of curiosity of sorts and the next year it would drop and the 3rd year it should pick up! So I think this Grand Prix would be very important for F1 organizers to decide if Indian GP would make it to 2014 or not! Fingers crossed.
    I’m still vouching for Red Bull…Vettel on the podium, he may not be winning the GP though! Fingers crossed again.
    Hey, by the by John Surtee just praised Vettel on an interview to dailymail – Here are the exact words “From the current group of grand prix stars, he speaks fondly of treble world champion Sebastian Vettel, describing him as as a driver that ‘does not get enough credit’, and one of ‘real quality'” – Ahh Man, I’m happy!!
    And that is very thoughtful of Simon to share the guide!!
    Yes, the GP break is huge, realized the gap this time already…so yeah, you guys keep us company with some fun podcast until the next GP!! Happy race weekend!

    • Thanks guys!! Appreciate your comments. Hope you’ll enjoyed the race.
      Pavithra, Kangaroo-ring? Really? 😛 LOL!!
      And I am hoping too that the 2013 numbers at the BIC are better, the Indian GP is important for Indian Motorsport too!
      And Vettel got on to the podium, but Button did cost him victory today.
      And now the Belgian GP is a month away!!
      Latesh, I agree, another havan is to be done by Rishi for Sahara Force India and their drivers. Whatever it takes to keep them ahead of Mclaren in the Championship!!
      Watch out for the next episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast guys! Cheers!

  • DEER = HORSE WITH HORNS
    HA HA
    NOT LOUD BUT LONG ENOUGH.
    NICE INTERPRETATION FOR MONTOYA
    TRIVIA WITH RINGS.
    WEDDING RING
    7 LAPS AND LONG COMMITMENT
    KOBA-CRASH-I ,, I M EAGER TO CHECK OUT THAT
    RISHI, WE NEED ANOTHER HAVAN FOR INDIAN GRAND PRIX,,
    THOUGH I FEEL SOMEHOW , IT WON’T HAPPEN.
    AND IT SHOULDN.T
    ANYWAY, RISHI’S HAVAN FOR SUTIL DID WON-DEERS
    IT SHOULD BE THE SAME FOR BIC.

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Let's Talk Formula 1
Hello,
Happy to share my passion for Formula 1 with you. If you have specific queries about the sport, feel free to ping me.

In the meanwhile, I welcome you to subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast for insightful conversations around Formula 1. We release an episode every week.

Regards,
Kunal