Lorenzo Castillo — 2026 Season Report

Lorenzo's first visit to the Hungaroring comprised 8 sessions across 4 competitive days. Starting with a 1.845-second deficit to the session fastest, he progressively closed the gap to 0.429 seconds by Race 3 — an overall improvement of 1.416 seconds. From Day 1 Session 1 through Qualifying, he reduced his lap time by 0.912 seconds, demonstrating strong learning pace on a technical circuit where track knowledge is critical. Race pace was consistently competitive with the front runners, closing to within half a second by the final race.

• Track Discovery: A qualifying-focused approach was taken on an unknown circuit, expending two sets of new tires before the track was learned.
• Driving Style: Inconsistent throttle application and limited peripheral vision identified in the early sessions.
• Natural Pace: Good Race 1 start, but gradual loss of ground over the stint due to insufficient natural pace.
• Tire & Mental Preparation: Cooler conditions not accounted for in tire warming (Race 2 wheelspin); a pace drop when running without a reference car ahead (Race 3).

Across the two-day test Lorenzo built rhythm and found significant time on new tires — 0.90s in D1 S3 and 0.64s in D1 S4 — for an overall 1.48s gain over his opening best. However, because the comparison group also improved, his relative gap widened from +0.62s to +1.28s, and he placed 4th of 5 in the final new-tire session. The new lower seat delivered immediate gains in peripheral vision, high-speed confidence, centre of gravity and airflow. Entry speed remained the core limit: T1/T2 and T5 in the slow-to-medium corners, and T6/T7, T8/T9 through the high-speed sections.

• Corner-Entry Speed: Carry more speed into T1/T2 and T5 without compromising the exits.
• High-Speed Commitment: T6/T7 and T8/T9 remain the clearest lap-time opportunities.
• Consistency on New Tires: Convert available grip into a complete lap more reliably.
• Start Procedure: A burnt clutch on the third S7 start showed clutch management needs care.

• Pre-Event: Motopark simulator prep, positive attitude, new driver coach — a clear improvement in starting energy.
• FP1: +1.3s off the first Motopark. Braking references and high-speed overlap flagged; a switch mis-set triggered a safety mode on the fastest run.
• FP2: +0.8s — a step forward in the identified areas; needs to shed the fear of making a mistake and push further.
• Qualifying: First set P4 with good track position; second set slipped to P9 — again did not extract more from the additional grip.
• Race 1: Race craft on show — two on-track overtakes, finished P6, but faded physically from mid-race.
• Race 2: Pole start, under-driving from Turn 1, clash with Jan Koller — a bad-judgment learning incident. DNF.
• Race 3: Wet — slow first five laps (+3s), then reacted and lapped as fast as the cars ahead; P6.

1. 1
   Qualifying Performance: One good step taken; a further, more aggressive step is required.
2. 2
   Braking References: Refine braking points for consistency and confidence.
3. 3
   Throttle Overlap: Improve throttle/steering overlap through the high-speed sections.
4. 4
   Rain Confidence: Access the strong wet pace from the opening laps, not after a recovery phase.
5. 5
   Lap 1 Aggressiveness: Sharpen first-lap execution and commitment.
6. 6
   Mental Prep — Starting in Front: Manage the nerves of a front-row start.