Tatiana Calderón returns to GP3 Series action this weekend at the Hungaroring near Budapest, Hungary, and has good reason to be optimistic of a strong weekend.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber Formula 1 test driver has her sights firmly set on scoring her first points of the season, as she and her Jenzer Motorsport team look to build on a strong second race at the previous round of the championship at Silverstone.
There, Tatiana impressively charged into the top 10 from near the back of the grid, but the twisty, 4.381-km Hungaroring layout provides an altogether different challenge. Qualifying will be critical with overtaking often proving so difficult, even with the assistance of the DRS system of the GP3 series cars.
In addition, the soft-compound Pirelli tyre will be used once again, as it was at the Red Bull Ring, which combined with expected temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius is likely to mean preserving the tyres plays a role in deciding the outcome too.
With the summer break following this weekend’s races, Tatiana is hoping to go into the break on a high.
Tatiana Calderón: “After a great weekend with the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 team at Hockenheim following the whole German Grand Prix, it’s time for me to return to GP3 action!The Hungaroring is a unique circuit, short but with a lot of corners and not much chance to rest. We expect very hot conditions and with the soft compound Pirelli tyres, managing them could prove critical. It’s also a circuit where I qualified well last year, and the fact we had a positive second race at Silverstone gives us some momentum into this weekend. We understood a few things from the car and how to approach qualifying, which is where we need to focus to have a chance of getting my first points on the scoreboard.”
This weekend’s round feature a revised timetable, with qualifying taking place on Saturday morning (instead of Friday evening) and the first race on Saturday evening.
BUDAPEST TIMETABLE
(all times CET and subject to change)
Friday 27 July
Practice – 09:30 AM
Saturday 28 July
Qualifying – 10:45 AM
Race 1 – 06:30 PM
Sunday 29 July
Race 2 – 10:05 AM
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