Why Hungary is impossible to predict

The German Grand Prix was an incredible race. What looked like being a Red Bull runaway earlier in the year has all changed with these remarkable McLaren and Ferrari comebacks.

It was an important win for Lewis Hamilton after some difficult races. That will give him a huge amount of confidence going into this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, but given how strong Red Bull was in the middle sector at the Nurburgring, Hungary should be firmly in its territory.

But Ferrari, which made a big decision earlier in the year by getting rid of technical director Aldo Costa and putting ex-McLaren man Pat Fry in charge, is reaping the rewards of that action, while McLaren seems to be getting back on track after a few difficult races. It's going to be an unpredictable second half of the year.

Long corners dominate the Hungaroring © sutton-images.com

Challenging track

The Hungaroring isn't a track regarded as a classic by many fans, but it might surprise people to know that it's a circuit that really shows great driving talent. I never went that well there, as it happens!

The reason I say that is that there are long apexes, so you have to be very comfortable committing yourself to the corner and then leaning on the car for long periods. Certain drivers really have that skill and this is one of the most telling races for judging the relative performance of team-mates.

It's physically hard too because it's just relentless - corner, corner, corner - and very hot. Even with full tanks and some of the energy taken out of the driving, you will see that this weekend.

Half-term break

Hungary is the last race before the mid-season break, which is a big thing for the drivers. It's a chance for them to get time away from promotional work because the teams do give them a bit of space.

In August, you can change the programme, have a few days off training which allows you to return to your best psychologically. When you go to a grand prix, then train, then go to promotions, then go to the next grand prix, it's like working every weekend and then being in the office all week. You cannot be as refreshed as you would like to be. The break is good for the drivers and the teams, otherwise it would be absolutely relentless from the first test in February through to the last race at the end of November.

The break is important in other ways, although it doesn't simply allow you to put everything that has happened in the first 11 races of the season behind you. But it is vital for Ferrari and McLaren to build on Germany and go into the break having further closed the gap to Red Bull. People have emotions and great results release that bit of extra energy and put a spring in everyone's step.

No worries for the Sauber pair; both have been re-signed for 2012 © LAT

Contract time

As August approaches, it's also a tense time for those drivers who haven't got their contracts sorted out for next year. It does play on your mind and you do have a very different sensation of needing to get the job done in every qualifying session and race.

Some drivers can disconnect themselves from the process and leave it to their managers to find out what the position is up and down the paddock. I never wanted to be too far removed from the process, and there were times when I wasn't sure what I was doing at the end of a year, but someone like my old team-mate Mika Hakkinen didn't take much interest and left it all to managers Keke Rosberg and Didier Coton.

Sometimes you use the media to give someone a gentle nudge. The team principals all say they don't read the magazines but they do and they are sensitive to them. But there is a lot to be said for doing your talking on the race track and you just have to react well under the pressure.

After all, that's what being an F1 driver is all about.