Hungarian Grand Prix: Track and Statistics

Formula 1 debuted in Hungary in 1986, but this stage could have passed in the USSR. Bernie Ecclestone wanted to race behind the Iron Curtain, considering the Soviet Union, China and Yugoslavia as candidates. Ecclestone felt the power of this “curtain” and bureaucratic difficulties and settled in Hungary.

Tamas Frank became the promoter of the stage – he and Bernie were friends for many years, until Tamas passed away in the summer of 2012. A contract was signed on September 10, 1985, construction started three weeks later and on August 10, 1986, the debut round of Formula 1 was held at the Hungaroring.

“Tamas was a man of action, very direct and sincere. Despite the small budget the organizers had at the time, he did an excellent job. I am proud to have entered this race in 1986, when Hungary was still behind the Iron Curtain,” said Ecclestone a few years ago.

Today, the Hungarian stage can safely be called historic, Hungaroring is the oldest circuit on this season’s calendar, built specifically for Formula 1. This is one of the few circuits that has always been on the calendar since its opening.

In 2021, the contract for the Hungarian Grand Prix was extended until 2037. On the Hungaroring, new grandstands will be built along the straight and the paddock will be completely rebuilt.

Follow features

In terms of average speed, the Hungaroring is only surpassed by Monaco, it is a very slow circuit where it is not easy to find the right settings. Overtaking is difficult, although wide safety zones allow you to take risks, and two dependent DRS zones make it easier to fight for positions.

Cars are tuned for maximum downforce, aerodynamic settings are similar to those used in Barcelona or Monaco. The suspension must be soft enough to ensure stable contact with the track. It is extremely important to keep the tires working without overheating problems on the track.

Twelve of the 14 corners are driven at speeds close to 200 km/h, which requires optimal aerodynamic balance and good mechanical grip. Engine power and the efficiency of recuperation systems are not as important here as on many other circuits.

High demands are made on the physical condition of the riders, who are almost all the time in the braking zones and corners and cannot rest except on the straight. Braking is not too strong, but brake wear is high because they don’t have time to cool down.

Usually the Hungarian weekend is accompanied by warm and sunny weather. The Hungaroring is not often used for racing, so on Friday the track condition leaves much to be desired, and Saturday practice is more suitable for working with rubber.

At the Hungaroring it is important to get off to a good start as the peloton tends to stretch in the slow second and third corners. At the same time, the straight line to the first corner is quite long – 400 meters from the post to the braking point.

The 2009 weekend in Hungary was remembered for an unpleasant incident in qualifying when a spring from Rubens Barrichello’s car hit Felipe Masse’s helmet on a straight line – the Brazilian suffered a head injury and missed the end of the season. The design of the helmets after the incident was completed – a 50 mm strip of the most durable carbon fiber Zylon appeared on the top edge of the visor.

Diego Ioverno, Ferrari engineer: “We have been performing at the Hungaroring for almost forty years now. The stage is set in the middle of summer, it is usually warm on the track, but there are also unexpected showers.

The track is slow, just like in Monaco and Singapore. It is difficult to overtake on it, the cars are set up for high downforce, given the large number of slow corners. Although overtaking is not easy, one pit stop is usually not enough.

In terms of weather, the stage in Hungary is very tough. There are far fewer straight lines where radiators can cool the power plant, gear oil, brakes and other components. Although maximum power on this track is not so important, so the heating is not so strong, it is still necessary to take this point into account.

On Friday, it is important to choose the optimal level of cooling, which ensures reliability and speed. We will perform a correlation between real data and calculations obtained on the simulator. Tire temperature monitoring is also very important.”

Weekend schedule

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Tire sets given to teams for the weekend

For the sixth time this season, Pirelli will bring a “soft” trio of compositions to the podium – C3, C4 and C5 marked as Hard, Medium and Soft. The same combination of squads was recently used in Austria, but the qualifying format will change.

In the first qualifying session, riders can ride only on Hard, in the second – only on Medium, and in the third – only on Soft. This reduces the number of kits that tire manufacturers bring to the podium for each rider to eleven instead of the usual thirteen, a step towards greater environmental friendliness and cost savings.

In total, each rider will receive seven sets of slicks for qualifying and the race. One set of Hard and one set of Medium must be kept for the Grand Prix. As for the remaining four kits, one must be returned after the first and second training sessions and two kits after the third free practice.

The number of sets of intermediate and rain tires on the stage in Hungary remains unchanged: four and three respectively.

Performance of active riders in Hungary

Despite the overtaking difficulties, only 16 of the past 37 Hungarian Grands Prix have been won by pole holders. Lewis Hamilton is the absolute leader in the number of victories on the Hungarian circuit – eight times he climbed to the top step of the podium at the Hungaroring.

The lowest grid position by a Hungarian Grand Prix winner is Jenson Button’s 14th in the 2006 wet race – the first win of a Briton’s career.

Fernando Alonso: “In Hungary I took my first victory in Formula 1. That year we had a fast car, we didn’t expect to win, but it turned out that the track suited her.

Usually this weekend coincides with my birthday, so there are a lot of positive memories, it’s hard to pick just one.

In Hungary the track is not easy, narrow and winding – a real challenge for drivers. It’s hard to catch up. Qualifying, as always, will be very important.”

^{* Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in qualifying, but was penalized by the stewards for slowing his team-mate by taking five places off the grid, and Lewis Hamilton started from pole.}