Hungarian Grand Prix: Track and Statistics

      FORMULA 1 AWS HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX 2026

       Date

       Circuit

       Lap length

       Laps

       Distance

       24-26/08/2026

       Hungaroring

       4381 m

       70

       306.630 km

       Official website

      Formula 1 debuted in Hungary in 1986, but this stage could have taken place in the USSR. Bernie Ecclestone wanted to hold a race behind the "Iron Curtain," considering the Soviet Union, China, and Yugoslavia as candidates. Feeling the strength of this "curtain" and the bureaucratic complexities, Ecclestone settled on Hungary. Tamás Frank became the promoter of the stage – he and Bernie were friends for many years until Tamás passed away in the summer of 2012. On September 10, 1985, a contract was signed, construction began three weeks later, and on August 10, 1986, the debut stage of Formula 1 took place at Hungaroring. "Tamás was a man of action, very straightforward and sincere. Despite the small budget that the organizers had at the time, he did an excellent job. I am proud that I started holding this race in 1986 when Hungary was still behind the 'Iron Curtain,'" Ecclestone stated a few years ago. Today, the Hungarian stage can confidently be called historic; Hungaroring is the oldest circuit on this season's calendar, built specifically for Formula 1. It is one of the few circuits that has always been present on the calendar since its opening. The current contract is valid until 2037. For the 2025 stage, the paddock was renovated, and new asphalt was laid – the old circuit is now almost like new.

      Circuit features

      In terms of average speed, Hungaroring is surpassed only by Monaco; it is a very slow circuit where it is not easy to find the right setup and difficult to overtake. Cars are set up for maximum downforce, and the aerodynamic settings are similar to those used in Barcelona or Monaco. The suspension must be soft enough to ensure stable contact with the track. It is extremely important to make the tires work while avoiding overheating issues – usually, the Hungarian weekend takes place in hot weather. Twelve out of 14 corners are taken at speeds around 200 km/h. Engine power and energy distribution are not as important here as they are in Silverstone and Spa, where the last two stages took place. At the same time, the physical conditioning requirements for drivers are high, as they are almost always in braking zones and corners, with the opportunity to catch their breath only on the main straight. Braking is not too strong, but brake wear is high because they do not have time to cool down. Hungaroring is not used for racing very often, so on Friday, the track condition leaves much to be desired, and Saturday's practice is more suitable for working with tires. It is important to start well at Hungaroring, as the peloton stretches in the slow second and third corners. The straight before the first corner is quite long – 400 meters from pole to braking point. Diego Ioverno, sports director of Ferrari: "We have been racing at Hungaroring for forty years. The stage takes place in the height of summer; it is usually hot on the track, but there can also be unexpected downpours. The circuit is slow, just like Monaco and Singapore. Overtaking is difficult; cars are set up for high downforce, considering the large number of slow corners. Although overtaking is not easy, one pit stop is usually not enough. From a weather perspective, the stage in Hungary is challenging. There are few straights where radiators can cool the power unit, gearbox oil, brakes, and other components. Although maximum power is not very important on this track, so heating is not too strong, this factor still needs to be considered. On Friday, it is important to choose the optimal cooling level that will ensure reliability and speed. We will correlate real data with calculations obtained from the simulator. Tire temperature control is also very important."

       Best session results of the Hungarian Grand Prix 2025

       Event

       Weather

       Driver

       Team

       Time

       First practice

       Sunny. Dry

       L.Norris

       McLaren

       1:16.052

       Second practice

       Sunny. Dry

       L.Norris

       McLaren

       1:15.624

       Third practice

       Sunny. Dry

       O.Piastri

       McLaren

       1:14.916

       Qualifying

       Cloudy. Dry

       C.Leclerc

       Ferrari

       1:15.372

       Best lap in the race

       Cloudy. Dry

       G.Russell

       Mercedes

       1:19.409

      Weekend schedule

      You can follow all Formula 1 sessions on our live broadcast page.

       Hungarian Grand Prix schedule. Moscow time

       Day

       Event

       Time

       24/07

       Formula 3. First practice

       10:55 - 11:40

       24/07

       Formula 2. First practice

       12:05 - 12:50

       24/07

       Formula 1. Car presentation

       13:00 - 14:00

       24/07

       Formula 1. First practice

       14:30 - 15:30

       24/07

       Formula 3. Qualifying

       16:00 - 16:30

       24/07

       Formula 2. Qualifying

       17:05 - 17:35

       24/07

       Formula 1. Second practice

       18:00 - 19:00

       25/07

       Formula 3. Sprint (19 laps or 40 minutes + 1 lap)

       11:05 - 11:50

       25/07

       Formula 1. Third practice

       13:30 - 14:30

       25/07

       Formula 2. Sprint (28 laps or 45 minutes + 1 lap)

       15:15 - 16:05

       25/07

       Formula 1. Qualifying

       17:00 - 18:00

       26/07

       Formula 3. Race (24 laps or 45 minutes + 1 lap)

       09:40 - 10:30

       26/07

       Formula 2. Race (37 laps or 60 minutes + 1 lap)

       12:25 - 13:30

       26/07

       Formula 1. Drivers' parade

       14:00 - 14:30

       26/07

       Formula 1. Hungarian Grand Prix (70 laps or 120 minutes)

       16:00 - 18:00

      Tire sets issued to teams for the weekend

      The short and winding Hungarian circuit (4.381 km and 14 corners) is often compared to a karting track. There is only one real straight – the start-finish, where overtaking is possible; the rest of the lap, drivers are in corners, including 180-degree ones – because of this, car setups are usually very similar to those used in Monaco. Like in the Principality, in Budapest, teams will receive the three softest compounds – C3, C4, and C5. This is the best choice for a slow track where grip and stability under braking are very important due to constant direction changes. The asphalt surface has pronounced roughness due to wear on sections that have not been updated, and very low grip, which improves throughout the weekend. The asphalt temperature at Hungaroring is one of the highest during the season; one of the main factors affecting tire performance, especially on the rear axle due to constant accelerations, will be thermal degradation. Granulation may occur on the softer compounds. It is expected that due to tire degradation, the time difference between completing the distance with one and two pit stops will be small, but track position, where overtaking is very difficult, may influence the choice of strategy. At very high asphalt temperatures, teams will likely prefer the two hardest compounds.

      Achievements of current drivers in Hungary

      Despite the difficulties with overtaking, only 16 out of 40 Hungarian Grand Prix races have been won by pole sitters. Lewis Hamilton is the absolute leader in the number of victories at the Hungarian circuit – he has stood on the top step of the podium eight times. The lowest starting position of a Hungarian Grand Prix winner is 14th place by Jenson Button in the rainy race of 2006 – this was the British driver's first career victory.

       Achievements of current drivers at the Hungarian Grand Prix

       Driver

       GP

       Points

       Laps

       Best

       pole

       1st row

       fast

       lap

       podium

       victory

       all

       leader

       start

       finish

       F.Alonso

       22

       153

       1427

       143

       1

       1