© Getty ImagesPreviously At The Hungarian Grand PrixIt twists, it flows, it used to be called ‘Monaco without the Walls’, but the new cars seem to like it nonetheless - the Hungaroring is always a pleasure to race at.
TheHungaroringhasalwaysbeenahappyvenueforF1teams.Whentheraceappearedin1986,formostofthepaddockitwasanexcitingfirstvisittoacountrythatbehindtheIronCurtain,butastime’sgoneonit’sbecomeaclassicfavourite.AsummerraceonthebanksoftheDanube(orcloseenough)wheretheancientstatuesinHeroesSquarerubbedupagainthesuper-fashionableruinbarsindowntownBudapest.Inrecentyears,it’salsofrequently–thoughnotthisyear–beenthefinalracebeforethesummerbreak,andwhilethatwasoftenfollowedbyaHungaroringtest,orafewdaysbackinthefactory,itoftencamewiththatend-of-termbuzzattached.
The circuit itself operates in two modes: red hot or soaking wet. At this time of year, the tarmac at the Hungaroring is as hot as any we’ll see all year – but the sort of weather that generates this also has a habit of bringing thunderstorms along in its wake. For a long time, F1 looked forward to a wet race in Hungary, because the low grip this engenders tended to be the best opportunity to see an overtaking move; the tight, twisting go-kart-like circuit – sometimes described as ‘Monaco without the walls’ was miserly with its passing opportunities. This tended to irritate the drivers who enjoyed the flowing nature of the track for one-shot against the clock in Qualifying, but found spending an entire race in a train of cars somewhat frustrating.
That’s been less and less the case in recent years. Tweaks to the profiles of several corners, the addition of a more powerful DRS, a major resurfacing project and – most significantly the new aerodynamic concept F1 is using – have all made overtaking easier. Not easy, it’s never going to be that at the Hungaroring, but easier. The new ground-effect cars can follow closer through the corners but don’t get the same amount of benefit from a tow. It makes overtaking harder at some tracks, but easier at the Hungaroring where sticking close through the loops and whirls of the final sector is what matters for lining up a pass into Turn One.
We’ve had successes and failures in Hungary – sometimes on the same day – but rarely has it been dull. These are some of our standout races.
The bald statistics of the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix show Mark Webber winning with plenty of time to spare but the real racing in Hungary happened earlier in the day. Back when track position was at an absolute premium, a Safety Car put Mark in the lead at the restart, needing to build a gap of at least 22 seconds to Fernando Alonso, winner of the previous race, before his tyres gave up. Mark leapt away like the proverbial scalded cat when the Safety Car pulled in. He put together a sequence of 25 absolutely stunning laps, and came out of his stop with seconds to spare. He won the race and went into the summer break leading the Championship.
25 Stunning Laps© Getty Images
Daniel Ricciardo won three races in 2014, with the Hungarian Grand Prix being perhaps the most Daniel-like race of them all, involving clever strategy and a series of gutsy overtakes. The RB10 was down on natural pace, so the drivers needed to manufacture an advantage with strategy. Daniel’s weapon of choice was to run deep into the race before a pit-stop, leaving him with a short, fiery stint on a soft tyre.
This came off spectacularly well in Hungary but even with a late race rubber advantage, he still had his work cut-out on a circuit grudging with its overtaking opportunities, and with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso still to pass, neither of whom give places away for free. But on that day, Daniel wasn’t taking no for an answer. He passed Hamilton on lap 67 then Alonso on 68. It was his defining victory of the season.
Ricciardo Masterclass© Getty Images
It’s surprising Max didn’t have a pole position until the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, given he already had seven victories to his name. In many respects, however, this highlighted where Red Bull Racing were in the last decade: good enough to snatch opportunist victories, but not really in a position to dislodge the dominant Mercedes team – except on those rare tracks where aero had a fighting chance against horsepower. We were strong in Monaco, and very handy at the Hungaroring, as witnessed by Max qualifying eighteen-thousandths of a second ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
Max got away well at the race start, led the first stint, and was back in front after the first round of pit-stops shook out. He had Hamilton right on his gearbox – but unless he made a mistake, there was no way by. So, on lap 48, Hamilton rolled the dice, and pitted for a second stop and a fresh set of rubber. He had enough of a margin over the chasing pack to retain P2, and 21 laps to recover 20 seconds and make a pass. It paid off and the gap was closed with four laps to go; Max on very old rubber was powerless to defend and had to settle for P2. It’s another good instance of how powerful the tyre delta can be at this circuit – but also a fine example of how a confident team making bold choices often prospers. A piece of knowledge we stored away for later.
Ever So Close© Getty Images
Starting seventh and finishing second is a good result at any grand prix, doubly-so at the sinuous, tight Hungaroring where overtaking comes at a real premium. In Max’s case, at the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix it was truly remarkable, given ten minutes before the start, the front end of his RB16 was a collection of spare parts laid out neatly on the asphalt of his grid slot.
Heavy rain was falling as the cars headed out on their reconnaissance laps and Max, really struggled for tyre temperature, went off twice, the second time burying his car in the wall. He managed to extract it and keep going – but with a heavily damaged left front corner. The team made the first of several crunch decisions and told him to limp to the grid, rather than back to the garage. If they could fix it on the grid, he could go racing: if he came back into the pit-lane, he’d be starting last. Getting Max into the race took the sort of team effort truly in the spirit of the phrase ‘all hands to the pump’.
While everyone else observed anthems and the usual hoopla of the grand prix grid, Max’s crew changed a push-rod and a track-rod. It required a job that normally takes 45 minutes in the relative comfort of the garage to be completed in a little over 12, once the damage had been assessed and spare parts hastily sent out. It was an epic performance, and while Max headed off on the formation lap without really knowing how the car would steer, he knew he was in the race. Before the lights he had a few words for his bolties: “I just want to say incredible work guys. That’s unbelievable. Thank you very much.”
Wing And A Prayer© Getty Images
The RB18 was the class of the field in 2022 but it looked like Max had bitten off a bit too much, even for him, last year when a power unit problem prevented him from setting a representative time in Q3, meaning he had to start the Hungarian Grand Prix from tenth. With Checo behind him in 11th, he didn’t have any assistance up the road to bunch the field, so had to do it the old school way.
Max had a lot of impressive wins last year – but Hungary may well be his finest achievement. He scythed his way through the field, passing on track or undercutting, he took the lead on lap 51 of the 70 and never looked back. The only driver that got in Max’s way all afternoon was, well, himself – having a spin mid-way through the race on an afternoon where light spots of rain were falling off-and-on all afternoon – but even that didn’t delay him for very long.
Maximum Attack© Getty Images
