The 2-week long break after the British GP is finally over. The F1 circus is ready to come to Hungaroring for the 39th Hungarian GP. Held in the scorching summer heat, this race poses a challenge for each driver who dares to show up for a facedown on the dusty race track. However, there is one downside to the old Hungaroring circuit: Its lack of straights, which leads to a deficit of overtaking opportunities.
The historic Circuit de Monaco is famous for not allowing racers to go for overtakes. The narrow street circuit in Monte Carlo is a devil to steer through, mainly because each turn can spell disaster for a driver. Known as ‘Monaco without the barriers’, Hungaroring is quite similar despite being an actual race track rather than a street circuit. While the track is one of the oldest of its kind on the F1 race calendar, the Mogyoród racetrack is much more curvy with many twists.
Designed by architects István Papp and Ferenc Gulácsi, the Hungaroring has built a reputation for not allowing overtakes as the modern-day race tracks do. But what are the unique things that make the Hungarian circuit challenging for the racers?
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History of Hungaroring
Is overtaking at the Hungaroring as difficult as at the Monaco GP?
Before getting into the track characteristics, let us walk you through the 38-year-long history of the Hungaroring. During the mid-1980s, F1 franchise owner Bernie Ecclestone wanted to organize a Grand Prix in one of the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). At that time, one of his Hungarian friends recommended he should go to Budapest, the Hungarian capital. This started a string of plans which led to the construction of the Hungaroring.
Even though Ecclestone wanted a race track just like the Monaco street circuit built at the Népliget Park in Hungary, the government refused. Then, the Hungaroring was built outside the capital city in a record time of just 8 months, making it the first race to be held behind the Iron Curtain. Hence, all of that made the circuit special despite its twists not allowing any overtakes.
Traps of the Hungaroring corners
For any F1 racer, a track that has a long straight allows for the Drag Reduction System (DRS) to come into play. This results in easy overtaking as the cars chasing the frontrunners can catch up if they are running 1 second behind. But at the Hungaroring, straights are fiction and the twists and corners are the reality. Boasting a total of 14 turns over a length of 4.381 km, it comes close to the Monaco circuit which has 19 turns over 3.337 km. Naturally, the racers do not get enough time to overtake as they are always busy steering through the turns to avoid running into the walls at the Hungarian GP.
And if that was not enough, the Hungaroring turns to go over a hilly terrain instead of the plains. Additionally, the narrow circuit needs drivers to have impeccable braking skills while traveling around the corners. Over the years, Turn 1 has proven to be one of the most challenging ones along with the chicane of Turns 6 and 7. Thus, a racer is typically busy making his way through the traps that are found aplenty here. Hence, there are very few instances of overtaking at the Hungaroring.
Tire challenges at Hungaroring
Since it is clear that the speed advantage at the Hungaroring is minimal, the cars with an aerodynamic advantage and better tire management are the ones who get to reign supreme on this track. As the racers need to steer through the numerous turns, tires tend to degrade faster in the summer heat. Speaking of how challenging it is, Hungaroring Sport Zrt’s President and CEO Zsolt Gyulay said to Budapest Info, “Among today’s standardized racetracks, the Hungaroring represents a tradition that is now highly valued—our race in the heat is one of the toughest challenges of the season.”
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While describing the demanding race track in Budapest, Gyulay continued, “Winning a race on a technically demanding, curvy track with hardly any straight parts is very challenging. Overtaking is difficult on the Hungarian racetrack, and the special microclimate of the Hungaroring tends to trick drivers. Heat is another big opponent and means that tires need to be treated very carefully.” However, the Mogyoród circuit has witnessed some thrilling moments where legendary racers have braved their twists despite the challenges.
Driver duels previously seen at Hungaroring
While it is true that the Hungaroring does not allow for much overtaking, some legendary names in the world of F1 have shown that this rule can have an exception. In 1989, the circuit witnessed the peak of rivalry between Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna. Critics had almost written off Mansell’s Championship chances when the Briton qualified 12th for the Hungarian GP. However, he passed all his opponents and made a last-minute maneuver on Senna to finally win the race with a 26-second gap to the Brazilian.
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In 1998, German legend Michael Schumacher had started third on the grid behind the McLaren duo of Mikka Hakkinen and David Coulthard. However, thanks to the brilliance of the then-Ferrari strategist Ross Brawn, Schumi went for a 3 pit-stop strategy rather than the McLarens’ 2 pit-stops, and this won him the race over his Championship rival, Hakkinen. And in 2019, Lewis Hamilton surpassed Max Verstappen in the 66th lap to win the 77-lap race.
Thus, overtaking might be a risk at the Hungaroring but it is one that the brave F1 racers have taken, time and again. The circuit has also seen some unexpected winners, such as Esteban Ocon in 2021, all of which make up for an exciting race that you would want to watch in the upcoming weekend. So, which racer you are vouching for as the podium spot holder in Hungary? Let us know by commenting below!
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