New driver in Red Bull fold for Hungary.

[The Stig]

Despite achieving the best result in its brief Formula 1 history last time out at the Nürburgring, there will nevertheless be a new driver in the Red Bull family ahead of next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The squad's regulars need not fear, however, as the driver in question is none other than Scuderia Toro Rosso part-owner Gerhard Berger, set to return to the cockpit of an F1 car for the first time in almost a decade. The Austrian – a veteran of some 210 races in the top flight between 1984 and 1997 – will climb behind the wheel of a McLaren MP4C as raced by countryman Niki Lauda and John Watson back in 1983, the year before he made his F1 debut.

The event – part of a ‘Bulls versus Lions' spectacular to be staged near Budapest's famous Széchenyi lánchíd (Chain Bridge), decorated with the aforementioned lions – is to be held on Thursday, 2 August and will involve Berger, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Nürburgring star Mark Webber and this year's Dakar Rally two-wheeled winner Cyril Despres among others. Two aerobatic pilots from the Red Bull Air Race outfit performing overhead will add to the entertainment.

After the 2006 event literally brought the city to a standstill, an even bigger crowd is expected to gather this year to watch the various motorsport aces put on a show around Roosevelt Square. For Berger and other drivers of his generation, the highlight of a day at the Hungaroring would often be the drive to and from the racetrack, especially the famous but illegal ‘racing line' across Heroes' Square. On Thursday morning, the local police will be turning a blind eye for once.

An area will be reserved for spectators on the left side of the Buda Tunnel in Hunyadi Street, in time for an 11am start with surrounding roads to be closed from 9:30am.