Friday, August 1 2008 -- Lewis Hamilton has been unstoppable in the past two races and at Hungary, the Brit will look to emulate the dominance he had so brilliantly displayed last year. The Prancing Horse will be looking to get back into top gear as they challenge the Silver Arrows for the Championship title.

Jerez testing sessions were unsatisfactory as teams mostly ran the 2009 slick tyres along with their 2008 aero packages. But the top-two teams remain confident that strong performances will be the order of the day, this race weekend. Hamilton seriously believes that the McLaren has made tremendous progress in a month while the Ferrari drivers do not consider their car as second-best.

Qualifying issues dogged Hamilton in last season's Hungarian Grand Prix as a spat with Fernando Alonso cost him a shot at pole position. Alonso was docked five places for blocking Hamilton and that got the Brit to the pole and the rest was history. Kovalainen will be there for his team mate and it is extremely unlikely that Hamilton will face any such issues again. With overtaking being a rarity on the track, qualifying will again be crucial to the team.

BMW Sauber F1 have also a small advantage at the track which requires similar car settings to Monaco. The Hungarian Grand Prix circuit resembles Monaco in many ways and the downforce settings are almost replicated. Nick Heidfeld has been on the podium here in the last two seasons and Robert Kubica would be hoping to satisfy his fans and get on top of the steps again. A distant contender for the title as well, a win here might boost his championship battle. "For sure we can expect a lot of Polish fans in Budapest," Kubica said. "The Hungarian Grand Prix is the closest race to my home country, so in some way it is my home race. The Hungaroring is the track where I had my first Formula One race in 2006. As a driver you always have a special relationship with the track where you had your first Grand Prix.

"However, it is not for these reasons alone that I like this track. For most of the lap you have some steering angle, which means you rarely get a break, and this is made worse by the fact the straights are very short. The Hungaroring is a difficult track, but then Formula One is about challenges."

Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr. will have anniversaries on their minds.

"I won my first Formula One race at this circuit with Renault in 2003 and it's a place were I have always gone well," the Spaniard said. "So I’m happy to go back there again this year and determined to bounce back after my result in Germany." Piquet, who did incredibly well in Germany, has fond memories of the Hungaroring GP2 event in 2006.

"That was very special because I won the feature race on the Saturday from pole position and then the sprint race on the Sunday, as well as setting the fastest lap in both races," he said. "It was definitely one of my best weekends in racing. It's quite a rewarding track to drive if you can find a good rhythm and it seems to suit my driving style."

Jenson Button, whose sole Grand Prix success to date came in the rain at the Hungaroring in 2006, will be pondering over his fortunes.

"The Hungarian Grand Prix will always be a special race for me as the venue of my first win in Formula One but obviously I would much prefer to be going back with the chance to challenge for the win again," he said. "The new parts which we tested in Jerez last week are a small step forward, so it will be interesting to see how this places us in the midfield pack for the race weekend. "The Hungaroring circuit itself has a good rhythm and a nice mix of slow-speed and high-speed turns. A lap around the circuit is actually quite a challenge because there is no respite and no opportunity to relax your hands, so you are gripping the steering wheel hard the whole time. As a city, Budapest is fantastic and definitely one of the most exciting places that we visit during the Formula One season, with a great atmosphere during the Grand Prix weekend, both in the city and at the circuit."

A dusty track cleans up as the weekend goes on and so, set-ups have to constantly change to accommodate the ever changing conditions. The forecast of high temperatures and rainfall may just add to the already unpredictable nature of this race track.