Screeching tyres, screaming engines, rev-heads and pit-babes: the 31st Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix takes place at Hungaroring from July 22 to 24.
The race is something of a sports milestone in East-West communications, having been run since 1986 when it was the first Formula 1 grand prix in a communist country during the Cold War. Two hundred thousand-plus spectators saw that first race.
Germany’s Michael Schumacher, world champion seven times, and Britain’s Lewis Hamilton, world champion three times, are the greatest successes at Hungaroring with four victories each. Hamilton is the current world champion, in fact sitting on a possible hat-trick after taking the championship in 2014 and 2015.
Schumaker won the Hungarian Grand Prix in 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2004, and Hamilton in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2013. Ayrton Senna has three victories at Hungaroring, in 1988, 1991 and 1992, and five drivers – Nelson Piquet, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Häkkinen and Jenson Button – have had two wins. Germany’s Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag in a Ferrari last year.
The most successful constructors in Hungary are McLaren with 11 wins, Williams with seven, Ferrari with six and Red Bull with two.
There was a one-off Hungarian Grand Prix in Népliget park in 1936, won by the legendary name of Tazio Nuvolari of Italy in an Alfa Romeo. The event apparently then died due to politics and the ensuing war. In the 1980s, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone wanted a race in the USSR but a Hungarian friend recommended Budapest.
They wanted a street circuit but the government decided to build a new track just outside the city at Mogyoród. Construction started on October 1, 1985. Nelson Piquet of Brazil won the 1986 and 1987 races in Williams-Hondas.
Some adjustments were made to the track for the 1989 grand prix, when the length was cut by 45 metres and further possibilities to overtake were created. The circuit was modified slightly in 2003 in an attempt to allow more passing.
Despite the changes the Hungaroring is known as a very demanding track, still with limited opportunities to overtake. Run in the heat of a central European summer, the Hungarian Grand Prix did not see a wet race until 2006 .
The drivers bring their skills to 4.381 kilometres of track with 14 bends for 70 laps, a total distance of 306 kilometres. The main straight with the start and finish line is 789 metres, allowing speeds up to 300 kilometres per hour.
The track was completely resurfaced for the first time early this year, and the Grand Prix’s deal was extended for a further five years until 2026.
On Thursday July 21 will be the public pit walk from 4pm to 7pm for those who have a three-day weekend ticket. Gates open at 7am on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for races in GP2, GP3, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, plus practice sessions for the grand prix and the big race itself. This begins at 2pm on Sunday July 24 and follows the drivers track parade and grid presentation. The winners ceremony is at 4pm.
General admission weekend tickets are EUR 90 for adults. Grandstand tickets run to three figures in euros, with many options including VIP (up to EUR 499). Members of the pricey Formula One Paddock Club (Saturday and Sunday EUR 4045, weekend EUR 4795) can go on the Friday-Sunday pit-lane walkabouts, plus they enjoy gourmet lunch, champagne, ear plugs and more.
Thanks to the hilly landscape, views are considered good. Hungaroring is beside the M3 motorway. Public transport includes a free shuttle bus for race ticket holders from Árpád híd to Templon tér, which is a 20-30-minute walk from the track. The HÉV suburban railway runs to within a 30-minute walk of Hungaroring. Helicopter transfer from Budapest is another option.
There are camp grounds and next door to the track is Hungaroring Adventure Park, for further entertainment.
