Minardi are preparing for a rather different weekend in Hungary as driver Mark Webber is joined by a new team-mate, BAR tester Anthony Davidson. The 23-year-old Brit has been drafted in as a temporary replacement for Alex Yoong, who has failed to qualify three times this season.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will mark not only Davidson's Formula One™ racing debut, but also his first competitive drive of 2002. After lifting the FIA European Cup in Formula Three last season and finishing second to Takuma Sato in the British series, he stopped racing in order to concentrate on his testing duties with BAR.

Those thousands of F1™ testing miles should stand him in good stead when he takes to the cockpit of the PS02 on Friday and, although he has never driven at the Hungaroring before, Davidson is determined to perform well for Minardi.

"I want to do a professional job for (Minardi boss) Paul Stoddart and the team in Hungary, and my primary target is to qualify for the race," he said. "If I can do that in my first Grand Prix, I will be more than happy."

Davidson will have the relative experience of team mate Webber to draw on. Though still in only his first season of Formula One, the Australian has at least raced at the Hungaroring before. In Formula 3000 last year he qualified second and had looked set for points until spinning out four laps from home.

As speculation continues about his 2003 plans, Webber will be hoping to get his season back on track in Hungary. After scoring points on his debut in Melbourne, he has made the top ten only once since, despite a number of sterling drives, and in the last three races he has finished just once.

The challenge of a new team mate should give his motivation an added boost. After getting used to comfortably outperforming Yoong, Webber knows that he will have to be on his guard against the unknown quantity that is Davidson.

Meanwhile, Yoong may not be competing, but the Malaysian driver will still be present in Hungary. "If I'm not in the car, it's still my responsibility to be there to help the team in whatever way I can," he said, according to news agency AFP. "I am still employed by the team even if I'm not racing."

The arrival of a new driver mid-season is not a new thing to Minardi, so they should have little trouble adapting. Only last year it was Yoong who came in for the final three rounds of their campaign, replacing Brazilian Tarso Marques.

In theory, the tight and twisting Hungaroring, with its emphasis on balance over power, should suit Minardi. However, they do not have a strong record at the circuit. They failed to get a car home last year and 1997 was the last time they scored a top-ten finish.

Michele Alboreto gave the team their highest Hungarian result, a seventh place, in 1994. Minardi's best all-round year at the venue was 1995 when Luca Badoer qualified 12th and finished eighth and team mate Pedro Lamy went from 15th on the grid to complete the race in ninth.