SPORTING SPECIAL

Will the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix be a flop?

29-07-2005 09:35

Race 13 of the 2005 Formula 1 World Championship has been overshadowed by a string of unlucky and uncertain events. It may be the unluckiest in the course of history of the race, but most probably not because one of the chefs of the McLaren team plunged to his death from the eighth storey of a famous Budapest hotel on Jul 27. And nor because Hungaroring (which was purpose built for Formula 1 in a natural valley surrounded by rolling countryside, near the village of Mogyorod) lies 13 miles (nearly 20 km) north-east of Budapest, but because of the lowest interest in the race registered for decades. The German and Italian visitors are avoiding Hungaroring because their idols Ferrari and Michael Schumacher have only a mathematical chance of winning this year’s championship. Many drivers and constructors have complained that the Hungaroring racetrack is very abrasive and the second slowest (after Monaco) race on the Formula One calendar and probably the most exhausting in the August Hungarian heat-wave, killing the knack in even the most advanced racing drivers. Race participants said that the first ever Magyar Nagydíj (Grand Prix), held at the circuit in 1986 was a big bang merely because it was (and to this day remains) the only serious international motor sporting event hosted in the former East-block countries.

The irony of the first race was that organisers called it off prematurely after the planned 120-minute limit had expired one lap before the finish. In the past years Hungaroring on average attracted an annual 260,000 spectators. However this year the turnout of foreign guests is proving to be way below previous years’, with some experts daring to predict only 130,000 spectators, if organisers are lucky. Hotels in Budapest were reluctant to admit that bookings and occupancy rates this Formula 1 season were much lower than in previous years. Hotel managers argued that the timing of the race was much too early as the end of July and the beginning of August are generally a family-affair-holiday season in Europe. One hotel manager went as far as to say that that Formula 1 fan-club enthusiasm has subsided immensely because of the new racing rules, the Michelin tyre scandals and the up-coming the ban on cigarette advertisements from August 1, which has left most stables in a serious dilemma over possibly even facing criminal actions, should run with their main sponsors’ logos - generally cigarette advertisements. Motor industry and sports experts in Hungary said that Team McLaren Mercedes’ Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo are most likely the favourites for the Hungarian race. Raikkonen is currently placed second (behind Fernando Alonso’s 87 points) overall in the Drivers’ World Championship with his accumulated 51 points while team mate Juan Pablo Montoya is fourth (behind Michael Schumacher’s 47 points) with 34 points. McLaren is also second in the Constructors’ rankings with 95 points (behind Renault’s 117 points). Maybe the circus will have more luck at the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix on Aug 21.