BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Now that the Formula One title chase has come down to four drivers separated by 10 points, each grand prix takes on added importance.
That makes Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix crucial in four drivers’ chase for the championship.
"The fight will definitely go to the end of the season," Mika Hakkinen predicted.
A month ago that might have sounded far-fetched but not now that there is a close, fierce fight after Michael Schumacher dominated the early portion of the season.
And the Hungarian Grand Prix has a history of being a points-turning race.
Nigel Mansell clinched the 1992 Formula One World Championship with a second-place finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix, which was the 11th of 16 races that year. In doing so, he won the title earlier than any other driver has since the modern championship began in 1950.
When Schumacher won the first three grands prix of the 2000 season and pulled out a 24-point lead over West McLaren-Mercedes driver Hakkinen, it seemed that the Ferrari driver would clinch the championship early in the season. But at the time, Schumacher warned that he was not about to become too confident about his title chances that early in the season because anything could happen. And what has happened has been plenty of bad luck for Schumacher and plenty of good luck for Hakkinen and Coulthard.
"There was a big gap, and it (my championship hopes) did not look so great," Hakkinen said. "But now this is going to be a season where the decision is not made until the last few races. The racing is just that close between Michael (Schumacher), David (Coulthard), me, and, of course, Rubens (Barrichello.)"
Schumacher has only scored points once in the past five races, a victory in Canada earning him 10 points. In those same five races, Coulthard earned 30 points while Hakkinen produced 26 points. The result is that after 11 of 17 races, only 10 points separate the top four drivers in the championship battle: Schumacher has 56 points, which is just two more than McLaren teammates Coulthard and Hakkinen, who have 54 points each.
Barrichello is fourth with 46 points, with six podium finishes, including a win, in the past seven races.
"This is a track where both Ferrari and I have done well in the past," Barrichello said. "But I am under no pressure.
"People try to remind me that I am only 10 points behind in the championship, but I am trying to look at my present and living my moment. If I am still in the running for the championship at the last race, then it's another matter. But right now I am just enjoying myself. I believe I am getting better and better every day that I run with Ferrari."
Schumacher, on the other hand, believes his luck is about to change.
"After all the bad luck I have had in the last few races, I am really looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix," Schumacher said. "It has always been a good event for me. I am optimistic about ending my run of bad luck here, and I think it is certainly about time. It's our turn to string together some good results now."
The Hungaroring, which is just outside of Budapest, has been the host of the Hungarian Grand Prix since 1986 when it became the first race run behind the Iron Curtain. That race drew an 200,000 people, a modern-day record for F1 that will be broken this year at the inaugural SAP United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sept. 24.
The tight and twisting Hungarian circuit makes overtaking difficult, so qualifying well is essential. Yet, while the race winner normally comes from the front rows of the grid, Nigel Mansell won the 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix after starting 12th in his Ferrari.
"This is the slowest track we race on apart from Monaco," said Jaguar Racing's Eddie Irvine. "It's often described as Monaco without the barriers."
Because it is seldom used, the track is dusty and slippery. The weather plays a factor in the race, too, as the temperature is often in the 90-degree range.
"It is quite a tricky circuit to drive," Schumacher said. "The track is quite bumpy, and the weather is usually very hot in Hungary at this time of the year."
