The Hungarian Grand Prix has been a staple destination on the Formula 1 calendar for years. The cars must have a high downforce aerodynamic setup, almost as much as in Monaco.
The Hungaroring is a track with continuous turns and has only one real straight that includes the start-finish line. This is where the most likely, if not the only, overtaking opportunity is found. The track consists of 14 turns, six left and eight right, some of which are 180-degree corners. The track rises and falls, and its 4,381 meters make it one of the shortest on the calendar. The continuous sequence of corners means that drivers barely have time to breathe during the 70 laps.
There are two DRS zones: one on the start-finish straight and another, much smaller, downhill from turn 1 to turn 2, with only one detection zone before entering the final turn.
As for the forces applied to the tires at the Hungaroring, they are not particularly high. Pirelli chose, as last year, the softest compounds: C3 will be the P Zero white hard compound, C4 will be the P Zero yellow medium compound, and C5 will be the P Zero red soft compound. This selection is a step softer compared to 2022 when the 18-inch tires debuted.
Grip is one of the most important factors, especially on the rear axle. Wear can be high, particularly when it gets very hot, and the forecast for this weekend is not at all favorable from this perspective. Last year, Hungary recorded the highest asphalt temperature of the season at 53 °C.
Thermal stress is, therefore, a factor that needs to be monitored, not only during the race but also in qualifying: with the softer compound, the driver must manage to reach the last two 180-degree corners after a fast lap with sufficient grip, which is not easy, as the short straight sections of the track do not give the tires much time to breathe and dissipate heat.
The Hungarian track is permanent, but it is not used much, which is why grip levels improve significantly the more it is used. This will be even more pronounced this year, as there has been no activity at the track for a long time due to renovations, with the first phase completed only in May. Therefore, tire wear and partial rubber detachment could be felt, especially in the first two free practice sessions.
Construction work underway
Upon arriving at the Hungarian paddocks this year, Formula 1 members will find themselves in a very different environment from 2023. In order to meet the deadline for the completion of the new facilities, work continued 24 hours a day, with four hundred to five hundred people working on-site at any given time, while a total of 1,500 people were involved in the project.
Four large and five smaller ones were used, installing 390 kilometers of piping, 3,200 tons of reinforced steel, 1,674 cubic meters of reinforced precast concrete, and 32,000 tons of concrete. The work involved moving 17,000 cubic meters of earth. The walls of the event space behind the main grandstand were also built, with a total length of 450 meters, as well as a new staircase leading to the spectator positions. The ground-level buildings in the paddock have been demolished so that the new paddock features a single area of 8,000 square meters.
What happened last year
Max Verstappen won here last year, at the end of the race. All drivers opted for a two-stop strategy. The medium and hard compounds were the most popular choices for the start, although four drivers chose the soft compound, aiming to capitalize on the extra grip at the start. Among them was Carlos Sainz, who jumped from eleventh to sixth position in the first lap. It is likely that this weekend the hard and medium compounds will be preferred for the race, while the soft C5 compound is expected to shine in qualifying.
Last year in Hungary, an alternative tire distribution format was tested, aimed at examining ways to reduce the number of sets and use them more efficiently. The ATA (Alternative Tire Allocation) stipulated that each driver had two fewer sets of slick tires (from 13 to 11) with the aim of using only one specific type of compound in each phase of qualifying: hard compound in Q1, medium compound in Q2, and soft compound in Q3.
The race in numbers
1986 The first Hungarian Grand Prix made its debut
38 Events have been held.
26 Podiums for Ferrari ahead of McLaren (23) and Williams (18).
16 Winners from Pole Position (4 times a driver has won starting from lower than the second row of the grid).
11 podiums for Lewis Hamilton; he is the most successful here with eight wins.
11 Wins for McLaren ahead of Williams and Ferrari, who share second place with 7.
9 Pole Positions for Lewis Hamilton
9 Pole Positions for Mercedes
8 Wins for Lewis Hamilton
5 drivers achieved their first win in F1 at this track, among whom are Fernando Alonso (2003) and Esteban Ocon (2021), both racing this weekend. The others are Damon Hill (1993), Jenson Button (2006), and Heikki Kovalainen (2008).