Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsManor

Manor hopeful of further Hungary gains

Manor is hopeful its updated MR03B will show an even bigger step forward at the Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend.

The Hungaroring is a tight and twisty circuit which has less emphasis on power unit performance than the last three circuits in Canada, Austria and the UK. With Manor running the 2014 Ferrari power unit, the team updated its car at Silverstone and saw a clear improvement, and sporting director Graeme Lowdon told F1i he expects to get more out of the new parts in Hungary.

“There are a few things on the upgrade - a couple of small things - which should potentially show more there than at some other circuits,” Lowdon said. “But we just need to get a handle on it and see what it brings us. I think the main thing is it’s a good, steady step in the right direction and a predictable step, which is good.”

Will Stevens is equally optimistic Manor will be closer to the midfield in Hungary than it has been at any circuit so far this season.

“I think we’ll be good,” Stevens said. “It’s a lot more like a karting track, very bumpy, and it’s corner after corner after corner. There’s not so many straights, which is good for us, and I’m sure the updates there will bring us closer again.

“For us to be the closest we’ve been at Silverstone, that means when we get to a track that suits us more we’ll be even closer. For sure we’re not going to be beating other cars but we’ll be even closer than we were in Silverstone.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.