[Official] Hungarian Grand Prix 2023: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 12 of 23

[Born Racer]

This is a particularly exciting one for me, as Mr and Mrs Born Racer will be attending the Hungarian Grand Prix for the first time.

The Grand Prix dates back to 1936 in Budapest and was run in Népliget, the largest park in the capital, away from its centre. It was won by Scuderia Ferrari with Tazio Nuvolari driving an Alfa Romeo. The circuit was never used again for Grand Prix racing, although it hosted European Touring Car Championship rounds until 1970.

The Grand Prix did not resurface until 1986 at a circuit a little way from Budapest, and although it was not highly regarded in earlier days, it has come to be much more appreciated over the years, perhaps in part due to its rather unique track, which has been over-simplistically described as being like 'Monaco but without the houses'. Another reason it is quite popular is the plethora of enthralling races it has served up. Actually, only Monza has hosted more consecutive races than the Hungaroring.

Quite unlike Monte Carlo, there are some reasonably long and winding corners, which lend it its own relentless nature; in Sector 2 particularly, there is little respite for the drivers, and they can get into a real groove there. The comparison also fails to take into account the run-off that it has compared to the Monte Carlo street circuit and therefore the fact that limits can be pushed differently.

The downhill Turn 1 plunges tight-right, with another straight the critical preparation for a sort of hairpin at Turn 2, several approaches to it meaning that passes are possible here on the opening tour. After then shooting around 60 degrees right, a straight takes the drivers uphill before the quick left, Turn 4, is soon halted by a tight right, Turn 5. The track then heads into a quick chicane with a 90 right and a much more open left on the exit, daring drivers to push harder to gain more time through there.

After a left at Turn 8 and the 90-right Turn 9, the track sweeps through 10, goes 90 right at 11 and 12 and then goes into two long hairpins to end the lap, a constant test of balance and throttle control as drivers wait eagerly to stamp on the throttle again. The DRS detection zone is just before the final of these and there is activation on the start-finish straight and just coming out of Turn 1.

In the inaugural world championship Grand Prix in 1986, Williams's Nelson Piquet pulled a great pass around the Lotus of Ayrton Senna at Turn 1 on opposite lock. After a wheel nut came off Nigel Mansell's car the following year on Lap 70, he took that one too. Derek Warwick grabbed the final point in sixth, despite driving with flu and conjunctivitis. Jonathan Palmer came seventh and won the Jim Clark Cup that year for normally-aspirated cars.

In 1988, Alain Prost made an audacious move on Ayrton Senna and the drivers they were lapping, Gabriele Tarquini and Yannick Dalmas. However, he ran wide at Turn 1. Senna went on to win from Prost and Thierry Boutsen, who often seemed to figure well at this circuit. Nigel Mansell retired, feeling unwell with chicken pox before he missed the next two Grands Prix.

The next year, Mansell made a decisive move on Ayrton Senna exiting Turn 3 as they caught Stefan Johansson's Onyx, and went on to win the race after scything his way through from 12th on the grid. Boutsen was once again third for Williams.

In 1990 Thierry Boutsen held Ayrton Senna at bay for lap after lap to take victory, and was the victim of rather disparaging comments about how tough it was to overtake here, instead of being congratulated on a solid defensive drive.

The following two years, Senna won and Nigel Mansell took his championship in Budapest in 1992.

Damon's first victory was in 1993, following two races he had led and had failures in. As he usually did in 1994, Michael Schumacher won in his Benetton-Ford. He was followed home by Damon Hill and the reigning world champion's father, Jos Verstappen.

In 1995, Damon Hill won from pole position in a race in which Taki Inoue was hit by a marshal's car as he tried to put a fire out on his Footwork. Jacques Villeneuve won in 1996, followed home by team-mate Hill.

It was Damon who was the star of the slightly bizarre 1997 race, which he so nearly won for Arrows before lugging the car home runner-up. There were few Bridgestone-shod teams in that first year for the Japanese manufacturer, and that day the Bridgestones were the tyres to have. Damon came within a whisker of a win, a hydraulic pump failure three laps before the chequered flag giving him an intermittent throttle and only third gear at his disposal. Villeneuve again took the win.

1998 was another notable race, where Michael Schumacher was ordered by Ferrari to build an enormous lead (24 seconds) in order to emerge from his final splash-and-dash stop ahead of McLaren’s David Coulthard. He managed 27 seconds. Mika Häkkinen won the next two races, jumping ahead of Schumacher and Coulthard at the start in 2000 to take the lead.

A Ferrari 1-2 for Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello in 2001 meant that the Scuderia clinched their third consecutive constructors’ championship, while Ferrari grabbed their fourth in a row the next year, when this time it was Barrichello who finished in front of Schumacher, with Ralf Schumacher in third.

Fernando Alonso led home Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya to take his first win in 2003, becoming the youngest driver to win a world championship Grand Prix until Sebastian Vettel beat that record. It was another Ferrari 1-2 for Schumacher and Barrichello in 2004, while Räikkönen led home Michael and Ralf Schumacher in 2005.

Button’s first Hungarian Grand Prix win (and first overall) came in wet conditions in 2006, from 14th on the grid. Pedro de la Rosa was second for McLaren.

In 2007, we saw the McLaren qualifying controversy, when Fernando Alonso waited in the pits to stop Lewis Hamilton from getting around to the start-line in enough time to make it for a hot lap, and a livid Ron Dennis could be seen on the pitwall. Lewis turned the tables in the race. Lewis’s team-mate Heikki Kovalainen took his only win in 2008 after Felipe Massa’s engine blew up on Lap 67. Timi Glock followed home in second for Toyota.

The next year, it was Massa who was injured in qualifying, when a spring from Barrichello’s Brawn flew off and hit him in the helmet. Hamilton won the race. In 2010, Mark Webber went back into the lead of the world championship after winning with Red Bull.

McLaren took the next two wins, with Button in 2011 and Hamilton in 2012.
Hamilton took his first win for Mercedes in 2013, the last race of that season that was not won by Sebastian Vettel.

In 2014, one of the stars of the season and this year's comeback kid Daniel Ricciardo came through from 4th on the grid to take the last of his three 2014 wins.

In 2015, both Mercedes drivers had particularly scrappy runs. Daniel Ricciardo collided with Hamilton and Rosberg, and Vettel took victory. The next year, eventual world champion Rosberg won from Hamilton and Ricciardo.

In 2017, it was the Red Bull team mates' turn to collide. Vettel won from Räikkönen and Bottas, who had been let back through by Hamilton, who had earlier done him the same favour.

A year later, Lewis Hamilton won from pole and would become the first driver since Michael Schumacher in 2004 to win the race and go on to win the championship that year. This was also the first of a hat-trick of victories. Bottas had been in 2nd, but made contact with both Vettel and Ricciardo while being overtaken, ending up down in 5th. Vettel and Räikkönen took up the other podium slots.

In 2019, Hamilton beat Max Verstappen after hunting him down from 15 seconds back with 14 laps to run, while Vettel came 3rd. A year later, Hamilton's victory was again over Verstappen, with Bottas back in 3rd. The world champion's team-mate moved slightly before the start, but the sensors did not deem it to be a big enough move to merit a penalty. The drivers soon pitted for dry tyres after the damp start and the Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean found themselves both running in the top four after starting on a dry compound, with Magnussen going on to finish in tenth.

In 2021, Esteban Ocon took an incredible maiden victory. It was wet at the start and Bottas hit Lando Norris, who went into Verstappen, but managed to continue. He also collided with Sergio Pérez. Lance Stroll collected Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo spun. Five cars were out on the first lap. A collision between Räikkönen and Nikita Mazepin led to a red flag, after which we saw Hamilton the only one on the grid for the restart, opting for intermediates, with everyone else preferring to go from the pitlane and change to slicks.

Completing the podium placings were Vettel and Hamilton, but Vettel was later disqualified for fuel irregularities, leaving Carlos Sainz in 3rd.

Last year, George Russell took pole in his maiden Mercedes season, with Sainz in 2nd and Leclerc taking up the 3rd slot on the grid. Russell led the opening stages, but was passed by Leclerc after the first stops. Verstappen, who had qualified down in 10th, undercut Russell at the second stops and closed on leader Leclerc, whom he overtook at Turn 1, before handing him back the lead when he spun at Turn 13. He got by again and won from the Mercedes pairing of Hamilton and Russell.

The Grand Prix has had a tendency to be a one-stopper, although last year a two-stopper was the preferred strategy. This season, the range of tyres is softer, with the C3s, C4s and C5s being brought to Hungary, while the alternative tyre allocation will make its first appearance. There will be just 11 sets in place of the normal 13, with 3 sets of hards and 4 of the mediums and softs apiece. If the qualifying session is dry, hards must be used in Q1, mediums in Q2 and softs in Q3.


Trivia

First-time winners at the Hungaroring are Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Heikki Kovalainen (his only Grand Prix win), Damon Hill and Esteban Ocon (his only win so far).

If Red Bull win the Grand Prix this weekend, they will match McLaren's tally of most consecutive Grand Prix wins from the start of a season - they achieved 11 in 1988.

Their driver Sergio Pérez has failed to get into Q3 for five races now, last achieving it in Miami, where he qualified on pole.

Lewis Hamilton has the most wins in Hungary, with eight. Of the current field, all the other victors have won once - Alonso (his debut win in 2003), Ricciardo (in 2014), Ocon (his debut win in 2021) and Verstappen last year.

Daniel Ricciardo becomes the first driver to replace another in 2023. His predecessor Nyck de Vries was one of two drivers (with Logan Sargeant) to be yet to score a point. That of course means that Logan Sargeant is now the only current driver who has competed this year who has yet to score a point.


The track




Other information

Circuit length: 4.381 km
Number of laps: 70
Race distance: 306.63 km
Dry weather tyre compounds: C3, C4 and C5

Race Lap Record: 1:16.627 (2020 - Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes)
First Hungarian Grand Prix: 1936
First Grand Prix at this circuit: 1986
First Grand Prix on current configuration: 2003


Join in the fun with the F1 Predictions Contest and Fantasy F1:

https://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158172

https://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157755

[S griffin]

Hope you two have a great time there. I’ll be down in Brighton this weekend, but will still find a way to watch it. Biggest talking point will be Ricciardo’s return

[bjohnsonsmith]

Excellent intro as ever.


This should be a very interesting Grand Prix weekend. There is the return of Danny Ric, as he replaces De Vries at AlphaTauri, plus the accompanying speculation as to whether he can deliver, having been out of F1 since Abu Dhabi last year. Then there is McLaren and Williams and whether they can continue to improve post Silverstone, though there is some doubt that the upgrades they brought to Silverstone and which were instrumental in producing those excellent results, will be as effective at the Hungaroring?

[Tourer]

Great work on the intro BR - thank you for producing the goods again!.

Enjoy the GP and Budapest itself - both well worth visiting IMHO and plenty of interesting "stuff" to check out at the track and in the city.

I'll be interested to see if McLaren's form carries along, how Dan Ric does and to see if we get more of a mixed up grid, which has happened here before.

[Richard C]

Thanks for the intro. Enjoy your trip. I have been wanting to visit Hungary myself.

Richard

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

This is a particularly exciting one for me, as Mr and Mrs Born Racer will be attending the Hungarian Grand Prix for the first time.

Have a fanblummintastic time

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Have a fanblummintastic time

+1 on that. Enjoy.

[Sandgroper]

4 minutes into Q1 and Perez into the wall.

[Richard C]

Perez in a waking nightmare. He is in the best car on the grid and keeps screwing it up.

Richard

[steve_r]

Perez doing another Pastor Maldonado impression.

It pains me. I have been a bit of a fan of his for a long time. Now is not the time to bin the car yet again, especially with all the Ricciardo rumours.

[Lancsbreaker]

FP1 a bit of a washout, after Perez causing the red flag, and it then being wet....


FP2 still giving very mixed and unusual results, although top 15 within 1 second....


LeClerc fastest, Norris, Gasly, Tsunoda, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Alonso, Zhou, Sainz are the top 10, with Verstappen 11th - but LeClerc on softs, whereas Norris and Gasly are on mediums.


Obviously teams running very different programmes, a mix of softs and mediums, one or two runs on the hard - but I don't think I can remember such a mix....


Danny Ric 0.45 down on his team-mate in 14th - but only 0.16 behind Verstappen, and almost 0.6 ahead of Perez!


Lets see what tomorrow can bring

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

Obviously teams running very different programmes, a mix of softs and mediums, one or two runs on the hard - but I don't think I can remember such a mix....

didnt get a chance to watch but looking at the time sheet it really does look like an odd running order...even after factoring in the loss of running earlier today and the variety of programmes being run fp2.

what happened with Russell tho. looked like he put in a fair number of laps but still at the bottom of the sheet? even Ham down there. assume they were working on long stints but still?

[bathurst77]

on sky f1 there was a shot of perez in garage after his nerf... Christian looking very p-ed off not even looking at him.

Poor Checo, at his best he is brilliant. He seems to have a touch of Danny Ric's ailment of the last few years. Great driver just not on song.

I suspect he might have trouble sleeping some nights right now

[S griffin]

Checo really needs to get his act together. Too many incidents, although at least this one was only in FP1.

[Aysedasi]

Thanks BR and have a great time!

[Greem]

Superb intro BR. I hope you and Mrs BR have a fabulous weekend!

[Born Racer]

Thanks, everyone!

Loving it so far. Watched the F3 sprint from Turns 10 and 11. Quite good corners to view from. Now at Turn 9 for FP3. Well organized transport connections and plenty of toilets. Better than Spa in both aspects (and really cheap for most things!) when we visited eight years ago.

They could do with more TV screens, though.

[bathurst77]

How great are those kids? They know their stuff and their enthusiasm is infectious Feel like telling Croftie and co to shut up and pass it to the kids
(im in Australia - the "kids feed" isnt available

On ya younguns you rock!

'

[chillibowl]

The new format seems to be the solution of having all the cars on track at the same time for the full duration. Can’t say what we are seeing are great laps but there is a lot (maybe just the appearance of lots) of action?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Hamilton on pole, his 9th at the Hungaroring.


Both McLarens on the second row.

[chillibowl]

Will take that back then…great lap by Lewis and the Mclaren drivers!

Fun qual!

[Richard C]

I haven't watched it yet, but saw the results. Interesting shakeup of order. And DR ahead of YT. No doubt the DR fans had no concerns! I guess he has passed test #1

Richard

[Lancsbreaker]

Not sure about the format, but by heck it was very close!



Nice touch by Red Bull to invite a young kid, who'd been very upset by Checo's FP shunt, down into the pits to meet his hero

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

Not sure about the format, but by heck it was very close!

Nice touch by Red Bull to invite a young kid, who'd been very upset by Checo's FP shunt, down into the pits to meet his hero

I'm not too sure about the format either, especially in Q1, when a bunch of cars all went out together for the final run, causing a mini traffic jam.

[steve_r]

Well that potentially livens up what has been a string of processional races for the win. Any other track we would probably expect Verstappen to breeze past and cruise off into the distance, but even with DRS, perhaps we will have a race here. Even so, I think that Hamilton will have his work cut out.