Hungarian Grand Prix Fast Facts

As always, we’re bringing you a collection of Fast Facts ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix in Hungary!

Video Transcription

With the Hungarian Grand Prix on this weekend, let’s look at some fast Formula 1 facts ahead of this year’s race. The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend tends to be one of the hottest of the year, with an average air temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius. Correspondingly, track temperatures tend to also be high, with an average of 36 degrees rising to a maximum of over 50 degrees.

Now I went to this race in 2017 and I can confirm it is rather hot this time of year in Hungary normally. I came back As red as this shirt, so I should have put some more sun cream on. So if you are going this weekend, get your sun cream on. You’re gonna need it probably. The amount of braking activity with six events across the lap, coupled with the high ambient temperatures and the absence of long straights, make the circuit especially taxing on the brakes.

The low average speed of the Hungaroring also limits airflow, which makes it even more of a challenge to cool the brakes and the drivers for that matter. The circuit consists of 14 corners, 6 to the left and 8 to the right. Many of these follow one another in quick succession, meaning a well balanced car that can handle directional change is important for lap time.

It’s all about downforcing Hungary. King, King of the setups is the one that has the most downforce usually. The Hungaroring has one of the lowest top speeds of the season at just 310 kilometers an hour. That’s, that’s down the main straight, so that’s the one of the lowest. Highest speeds, that’s about 190 miles an hour.

That is perhaps no surprise given the car spent just over 10 seconds on his straight over the course of a fast lap, with the remaining time spent cornering. Those track characteristics are also reflected in the full throttle percentage, which is just 58 percent of the lap time. This is one of the lowest figures we see across the year.

Despite a relatively short start finish straight, the distance from pole to position to the braking zone for Turn 1 is 472 metres on the longer side compared to other venues we visit. Given the prevalence of slow corners, good traction is important here. That’s why this circuit puts the rear tyres under a lot of stress.

2022 saw George Russell take his maiden pole position in Formula 1, while Lewis Hamilton recorded his first pole in 18 months in 2023. Thanks for watching! By taking his 9th pole overall at the circuit, a new Formula 1 record for most poles at a single Grand Prix, which he can extend this weekend too.

Lewis is the most successful driver at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with a total of 8 victories. Next on the list is Michael Schumacher with 4 wins to his name, that is ridiculous. And he could get 9 victories as well this weekend, which would equal his record. For most victories at any circuit in any Grand Prix, which he obviously set at Silverstone last week.

Max won last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix by a margin of 33. 731 seconds, the largest winning margin seen in Formula 1 since 2001. Wow. At any track? Jesus, that’s a lot. Max arrives in Hungary with the exact same points total he did last season. That’s fascinating that you’d expect his points total this year to be a lot lower.

Um, the Hongara ring was the site of Red Bull Racing’s history last season, as victory at the race gave them a record breaking 12 consecutive championship race victory, surpassing the 11th in a row set by McLaren in 1988. And those are all the fast facts for this weekend. Heading into Hungary, I’m really looking forward to this race.

I love the Hungarian and I am very interested to see how competitive it will be. Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull, all in a shot this weekend in my opinion. And of course, I’ll be bringing you plenty of videos to preview the event. I’ve already brought you some like, there’s been a Hungarian driver in Formula One over the years and I’ll also be bringing you some more like the five drivers that you should be looking out for this weekend.

And of course we’ll be doing reviews and five things reactions for practice, for qualifying and for the race on Sunday too. So keep it here tuned to the F1Chronicle.com.