It’s been on the calendar every year since 1986 making it the second-longest running race at a single location in the sport’s history. The Hungaroring has always been described as a go-kart style track thanks to its tight and twisty layout. Because of this, particular importance is put on qualifying.
The track itself boasts 14 turns – eight right-handers, six left – with a lap-length of 4.381km. The drivers are expected to be at full throttle for just 50% of the high downforce lap. The main issue teams will need to think about is the weather. With the race being held in July, the track temperature can be heading towards a tyre-melting 60°C, but there can also be downpours, making the Grand Prix anything but boring.
The Team has had both good and bad luck at the Hungaroring. There’s the Double DNF on lap one at the Team’s first ever race in Hungary, and the time Max hit Daniel Ricciardo in 2017 damaging the Aussie’s radiator and causing him to retire.
There have been nail-biting moments as well such as in 2020 when Max crashed on his sighting lap and his engineers had to desperately work on his car to get it ready in time for lights out. They did with just seconds to spare and Max not only finished the race, but finished on the podium, bringing his RB16 home in P2.
A year after that, Max was able to cut his way from P10 to the win – on a track known for overtakes being difficult. And finally, last year, when Max took his second win at the circuit and Checo brought his RB19 home in P3 for a double podium.
This year the Bulls will be hoping for more success and will hit the track on Friday at 13:30 track time (11:30 UTC) for Free Practice One. Don’t miss any of the action over the weekend, by coming back here to Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Race Hub.
Hungary is an interesting track and we are looking forward to racing there this week. The circuit is very narrow and twisty and has a very technical second sector; it will also be quite a bit warmer this week too. Silverstone was a tricky race for us: although we made all the right calls, we still have a lot to work and improve on going into the second half of the season. I have been back at the factory with the Team on the sim preparing for the upcoming race, which has been good. We have also been at Goodwood this weekend, marking 20 years of Red Bull and celebrating everyone who has been a part of the Team’s history. Finally, we had a brilliant race in Hungary last year and have good memories here as we achieved 12 wins in a row. Hopefully, we can have a great race again this year and achieve another good Team result.
It has been good to be able to have a period of time following the British GP, being able to take yourself away from the noise of the racetrack can sometimes be especially important. While I have spent time with my family and trained hard, I have also been in the factory with my Team, on the sim and analysing how we improve this current period of form. We always work together on solutions and that is what we have been doing, working as a Team to overcome things. I think you can see how special Red Bull Racing is in moments like Goodwood Festival of Speed on Sunday, to see our history so clearly, running up the hill together, reminds you of how much we have achieved and how much we still have to achieve.
