Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes:
“I won my first grand prix in Hungary – and I can still remember that race as if it was yesterday. Actually, what I remember best were the moments after the race, when you finally realise that it's all real, and you get to see the reactions of everyone around you. It was a great moment in my career, and one that I still savour. As for the circuit itself, it's a good track – it's a place where you need to drive with a lot of control if you're going to get a good laptime. Some of the kerbs are quite high, so you need a bit of precision through the high-speed stuff. Fortunately, it's a high-downforce track, so there's usually plenty of grip – or, at least, there is by Sunday, because it's always really dusty at the start of the weekend.

“After Hockenheim, I think we go to Budapest feeling more optimistic about our pace – the team has traditionally gone well at the track, and we feel we have a high-downforce configuration that should be well-suited to the circuit. We're learning more and more about the blown floor after every session, and I feel like we got some very useful data from Sunday's race in Germany. Now it's all about maximising our package and hopefully securing a strong result before the summer break – that would be a massive positive for everybody on the team.”

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes:
“I love racing in Hungary. Budapest is a fantastic, beautiful city that I'd love to get out and really explore one day, and the circuit is quite a unique place – it's got a reputation for being a slow track where it's impossible to pass, but I don't really agree with that. Firstly, the track has a couple of high-speed corners – in particular, the blind left-hander at Turn Four, and the right-hander at Turn 11 – and, since the revisions to the first corner, it's a place where passing is definitely possible, even if it's not easy.

“It's a circuit that really requires you to pull it all together – like Monaco, there's nowhere to relax, and, because one corner always leads straight into the next, you're really hustling the car the whole way. Which, when you've got a good car, is good fun. I've always gone well there – I won in 2007, and winning there last year was one of the best races of my career in terms of sheer satisfaction. The whole team was elated with that result because we'd just performed one of the greatest turnarounds in sport, coming from the back of the grid at the start of the season to take victory.”

Michael Schumacher, Mercedes:
“The German Grand Prix last weekend was clearly disappointing for us but we have seen a variety of performances from our team over the past few races. With this in mind, I will still go to Hungary with a positive feeling. It is clear that we need to understand our car better, and the track in Budapest plus more time to evaluate our upgrades should help us in that respect. As I said after the last race, we have to remain calm, look into all the details and analyse our performance in order to learn as much as possible from such weekends. That is the way we have to go in order to improve our situation which may already be possible this coming weekend in Hungary.”

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes:
“Budapest is a great city and the atmosphere there and at the track over the race weekend is very vibrant so I always enjoy visiting. The Hungaroring is one of those tracks that provides a real technical challenge and it is good fun to drive. Overtaking is difficult there so qualifying is really important and you need to start from as high up the grid as possible. Qualifying hasn't been our strong point recently so we will be working hard on our preparations over the weekend to give us the best chance in the race. I had a strong weekend in Hungary last year, finishing in fourth place, and it would be nice to be competing towards the front again this time around.”

Rubens Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth:
“I like the Hungaroring and I have won there in the past. Of course the most critical issue is that you have to qualify well to have a good race. The circuit requires a very different set-up and the track surface is pretty bumpy. We'll be looking to carry our present momentum on to Hungary. It is not as if we had a bad race last weekend - it is just that the rhythm and pace of everyone is pretty similar, but we ended up in a bad position on the track after the start. I am confident the speed is still with us, we will just need to work hard in Budapest to make sure we are at the front of the pack we are in.”

Nico Hülkenberg, Williams-Cosworth:
“I like the Hungaroring and I have won there in the past. Of course the most critical issue is that you have to qualify well to have a good race. The circuit requires a very different set-up and the track surface is pretty bumpy. We'll be looking to carry our present momentum on to Hungary. It is not as if we had a bad race last weekend - it is just that the rhythm and pace of everyone is pretty similar, but we ended up in a bad position on the track after the start. I am confident the speed is still with us, we will just need to work hard in Budapest to make sure we are at the front of the pack we are in.”

Robert Kubica, Renault:
“It's a very difficult track to set the car up for because there are long corners where you need to have very good front grip, but on the other hand you need good rear stability. It's also difficult for set-up because of the bumps and because there are lots of different kinds of corner, so you have to somehow concentrate on all areas of the set-up and car balance. And it's very demanding physically and mentally because there are so many corners and there's only really one straight, and even that is not so long. You don't really have time to get back your energy and relax, so you are always concentrating.”

Vitaly Petrov, Renault:
“It's a circuit that I know quite well and I have a lot of experience there racing in GP2. But this will be my first time there in Formula 1 so there is still a lot for me to learn. I like the circuit and it's quite a tricky track where you need to find a good rhythm and know the secret to going well there. I need to work on improving my qualifying performance to make sure I start the race in a good position. If I can do this, I think I can have a strong race because in Germany the pace of the car was good. In fact, Germany was nearly a mistake-free weekend, except for qualifying. Robert has shown what the car can do in qualifying, so I know this is where I can improve. I will work hard to put all the pieces together across the weekend and my target is to finish in the top ten and score some more points.”

Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes:
“Budapest is a great city, it's beautiful there, and always nice and warm. I'm looking forward to it after a cold weekend in Germany! The Hungaroring is actually a difficult track, with a lot of corners that require focus as one leads into the next without any recovery time. I like driving there, even though the average speed is quite low. Qualifying is very important, and despite our recent form in this area, I'm always confident I can make it into the top 10.

“We'll also try new parts, including a new blown diffuser on the Friday. In the past I've never had much luck in Hungary, but this is a new year for me, year number zero, with a competitive car, a strong position in the championship and everything to push for.”

Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India-Mercedes:
“Although we know it could be a tough weekend for us because of the strength of the competition now, we still have a chance to fight for points because we're always there when everything goes right. And it's like a big Monaco in that the circuit is very twisty and there's not much room for overtaking, and at Monaco we were quite strong.

“I quite like the track and I've been pretty fast in the past. It's all about the rhythm, akin to a kart circuit, so I like it! It's one of the old school circuits with a nice atmosphere and a beautiful city, and it's always good to be there. I believe we have a chance to score points, but the others won't make it easy.”

Paul di Resta, Force India-Mercedes (Reserve Driver):
“In Hungary I'll be getting back to my normal Friday duties, driving in FP1 when I replace Tonio. Of course, after sitting out Hockenheim, I'm looking forward to getting back out there. The Hungaroring will be another new track for me so I've been doing my homework, going in the simulator, looking through last year's data and talking with the engineers to be as prepared as I can.

“It looks like it's quite a tight track and the cars don't get going as much as at other tracks such as Silverstone or Melbourne, but I've always enjoyed watching the races there so hopefully it will be good to drive.

“The year is really flying by now and we're now well over half way. I feel so much more comfortable in the car and at the moment it's even more exciting to be part of the programme as the team is now under pressure to move forward and do the best job it possibly can.”

Sébastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari:
“It is an unusual and very tight circuit which is a bit like Monaco, except not in a town, as you run with a lot of downforce. Maximum speed is not so important as you want the downforce for the corners. There is a real buzz at the track, as there is always a big crowd and we like that. On top of that, the city of Budapest is fantastic. I really enjoy driving here even if the track surface is very bumpy, which makes it tough physically. It's a fun race though, as we only encounter this type of circuit once a year, although for actual racing it can be a bit difficult because with no long straight and constant left, right, left, right series of corners there are no opportunities for slipstreaming another car to get past it.”

Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari:
“Last year's Hungarian GP was my debut in Formula 1 and what I remember best is actually finishing the race, because it was the toughest thing I had done. It was good fun in a way, because I did not care about the lap times or my position, I was just driving the car. It was a great weekend and I had not expected to finish the race, as physically the Hungaroring is a very demanding track with no straights and lots of corners so there is no time to catch your breath and a year ago I was not at the right level of fitness required to be a Grand Prix driver. I am looking forward to going back there this time as, I was so inexperienced last year that it will be really interesting to see the track again with one year of racing in F1 under my belt.”

Jarno Trulli, Lotus-Cosworth:
“It'll be good to get back in the car straight away after a frustrating end to the German Grand Prix. After what had been a really strong weekend, it was obviously not the way we wanted the race to go, so hopefully Hungary will be better luck for us! The Hungaroring is a very twisty track, bumpy and hard to pass on, and not one you can get a great rhythm on. We'll be running the full downforce package, and as it's normally very tough – hot and very long, it's a real physical challenge. But I'm feeling good, and we keep progressing, so I'm looking forward to the weekend.”

Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus-Cosworth:
“I've got great memories of Hungary. It's where I scored my first victory, which is obviously the highlight of my career so far, so I'm always looking forward to going there, particularly as there's very strong Finnish support out around the track - it's almost like a home race for me. This year the challenge is obviously different, but we've made good progress at every race so far, and we're well prepared for Hungary so there's no reason why we can't take another step forward this weekend.

“The track itself is obviously hard to pass on, but it's satisfying to find a setup that allows you to get the most out of the car as the track evolves, and then nail it in qualifying – as a driver that's a good feeling. In the race, it's easy to get stuck behind someone, because of the nature of the track, so pitstops become even more critical. With that in mind it's good to see how everyone in the team, the pitcrew, the engineers and everyone in the garage, can make a real difference to your race performance, even more than normal. As a driver that's also very satisfying as it shows how important everyone in the garage is, so hopefully we'll be able to put that into practice this weekend.”

Sakon Yamamoto, HRT-Cosworth:
“I can't wait to go back to the Hungaroring as I know the circuit already very well from my Formula 1 races with Super Aguri, Spyker F1 and with ART in GP2 series. The races there are always very tough because there is no big gap between the corners. You need a good braking stability and good traction on the car. I keep on pushing for another challenge and I hope that we are luckier than in Hockenheim.”

Bruno Senna, HRT-Cosworth:
“I am looking forward to Hungary, because the ambiance is always good and the crowd enjoys the show a lot. I have raced twice at the Hungaroring with GP2 series and I had two podium finishes in 2008. It is a very high downforce circuit and it has long-radius bumpy corners, which put a lot of demand on car and driver. It is going to be a challenging weekend for us as it is a very tough track on both the cars and the drivers, but we hope to do better than expected and maybe surprise some people.”

Pedro de la Rosa, BMW Sauber-Ferrari:
“Budapest is one of my favourites because I achieved my first and - so far - only podium there. This was back in 2006 when I finished second. The city is extremely interesting and offers a lot. The architecture of the bridges, houses and castles is just beautiful. When I was a test driver I used to go running along the river on Saturdays after qualifying. You can feel the history, but at the same time the city is very much alive. In a way it reminds me of Spain. I like to describe the track as the permanent version of the Monaco street circuit. You need maximum downforce and a good car in slow corners, while efficiency is less important. It is a nice track but it is very hard on the drivers, especially when it is hot, which has quite often been the case at the race weekends. Perhaps it is not the best track for our car, but we have improved it a lot for slow corners and we have also proved if we finish races we can fight for points.”

Kamui Kobayashi, BMW Sauber-Ferrari:
“I have good memories of the Hungaroring. Despite not achieving the best results there, I like racing on this circuit a lot. I find it nice and exciting, and I certainly enjoy the city, especially the restaurants on the side of the river. Also the circuit has a good tradition and a nice atmosphere. It is very narrow and windy, which might be tough for us this year. Overtaking is very difficult on that track, and therefore our chances on the Hungaroring depend a lot on if and how much we can improve our qualifying performance.”

Timo Glock, Virgin-Cosworth:
“The Hungaroring is a nice mix of slow-speed and high-speed turns and has a good rhythm. It's non-stop and we seem to be gripping the steering wheel the whole of the lap with no easing up on the hands. It's a great track and one I enjoy. I also scored my first podium here in 2008. As the weekend goes on the track tends to improve quite a lot as more rubber goes down and this means the lap time can be quite different from the start of the weekend to the end. This can make it difficult to evaluate set-up changes. Budapest is a fantastic city and there is a great atmosphere during the weekend - it's definitely one of the best venues on the calendar. I'm looking forward to the race. We took another step forward in terms of performance last weekend but we have to make sure the run up to the race is smoother so we can maximise every possibility.”

Lucas Di Grassi, Virgin-Cosworth:
“As usual I have done a lot of work in the simulator to prepare for the Hungaroring. It's a pretty physical track which I know well from racing in GP2 here but it's good fun to drive. It is usually pretty hot here but the weather is looking a bit changeable this week, which is unusual for Budapest. In the German GP I was running second only to Kovalainen until a suspension problem forced me to retire. But the underlying positive is that the car is performing well and our pace is good, so I think I can be optimistic for a good race here this weekend and hopefully finish ahead of Lotus.”