Formula One preview: Hungarian Grand Prix

Rohan Brown
Jul 31
5 min read

Written by Rohan Brown, edited by Gabriel Tsui

Carlos Sainz tackles the tricky Hungaroring circuit in his last race there with Ferrari | Credit: Ferrari

With the summer break on the horizon, Formula One returns to the Hungaroring for the 40th time - with the venue having completed many upgrades, the revitalised circuit promises to not just upgrade the fan experience, but the on-track racing.

The circuit

The layout of the Hungaroring — The Hungaroring and Monza are the only tracks to have held consecutive Grands Prix since 1986 | Credit: F1

Construction on the track began in 1985, with its first Grand Prix being held in 1986 - and was won by three-time F1 drivers’ champion Nelson Piquet. The circuit has garnered the reputation of being ‘Monaco without the walls’ due to the limited overtaking opportunities and lack of entertaining races.

Designed by István Papp, the Hungaroring makes up its historically underwhelming racing in the fan experience it provides, as there are many great viewing opportunities with the tracks being situated in a valley and the tickets being the second-most affordable on the calendar.

The actual track itself is a tight-and-twisty layout with a limited amount of overtaking opportunities, with one of the few notable ones being the long braking zone heading into Turn 1 - which is situated within a double DRS zone.

Additionally, the Hungaroring Circuit has undergone a process of upgrades that began after the 2024 Grand Prix (and will be fully concluded by next year’s race), the upgrades have brought:

A new pit building (that has 36 garages, four technical garages and a 2000-person VIP area which overlooks the pit land)
New offices and press conference room, kitchen and rooftop terrace
A new 13,000 square feet grandstand on the main straight (with space for corporate spaces and commentary booths)
A resurfaced start-finish straight (after two underground tunnels were constructed to provide access between the paddock and main grandstand)

Storylines

Is McLaren’s dominance in the 2025 season becoming too boring?

As F1 heads into round 14, McLaren lead the constructors’ championship by 268 points from Ferrari, and have won all but three races of the 2025 season (so far) and leading to a fight for the final podium spot between the other teams.

But ultimately, dominance by any entity in F1 is a common part of the sport and this will most likely remain this way. However, this dominance does not feel like Max Verstappen’s dominance in 2023 (where he would win almost every race), as F1 is at the end of a regulation cycle so the performance of the cars is as close as it can be.

Could the Hungarian Grand Prix be the decider in the drivers’ title fight or not?

The battle between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri has been characterised by some of the races being decided by the finest of margins, such as Piastri’s 10-second penalty (which he got for erratic braking under the safety car) at Silverstone and Norris’ mistakes at Spa (like his lockup at Turn 1 was was estimated to have cost him 1.2 seconds in addition to his poor rolling start).

Building on this, it highlights how this season’s drivers’ championship will be won and lost by small mistakes or slip-ups by both contenders, and more importantly how consistency is the key ingredient to winning a championship.

Can Lewis Hamilton bounce back after his underwhelming weekend at Spa-Francorchamps?

Lewis Hamilton speaks to the media — Lewis Hamilton is yet to have scored a non-sprint race podium or win in the 2025 season so far | Credit: F1

15th in the sprint race and seventh in the Grand Prix are not results the seven-time world champion will be happy about in the slightest. But the Hungaroring is a track where the Ferrari driver has a positive and storied past with, so one strong race this week could be all that is required to lead to better results down the line.

A podium or win in this week's race will be difficult, but certainly possible.

Will Sauber be able to continue their strong form into the Hungarian Grand Prix?

The Hinwill-based team now find themselves in hot pursuit of Williams for fifth in the constructors’ championship in their final season as Sauber before becoming the Audi works team in 2026. Nico Hülkenberg’s first podium at Silverstone symbolised how they had built up strong form.

Going into round 14, Sauber have a strong chance of continuing to be the best of the rest, with a strong qualifying session on Saturday would extend their positive form.

Is Franco Colapinto going to score his first points of 2025 in Hungary or not?

It is clear that the pressure is on for Franco Colapinto to score his first points of the 2025 season. After replacing Jack Doohan post-Miami, the French team’s 13 total points since then have all been scored by teammate Pierre Gasly - and in F1, being beaten by your teammate could lead to you being replaced.

It is not entirely impossible for Colapinto to find his first points of the season in Hungaroring, but it will be a tall task for the Argentinian.

Past winners

Pictured here at the 1982 US GP in Detroit, Nelson Piquet won the inaugural Hungarian Grand Prix four years later by 17.6 seconds | Credit: Mark Windecker

Throughout its first years in the F1 calendar, this Grand Prix was won by many famous drivers, such Ayrton Senna (1988, 1991 and 1992), Nigel Mansell (1989), Mika Häkkinen (1999 and 2000) and seven-time drivers champion Michael Schumacher (1994, 1998 and 2004).

Moving onto more recent years, fellow seven-time world champion Hamilton holds the record for the most wins here - eight (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020), notably 2013 was the Briton’s first win with Mercedes. There have also been other notable recent winners, such as Esteban Ocon securing his first-ever F1 win (2021), and the same for Piastri last year (2024)

Winner picks

Lando Norris

Despite losing the last race in Belgium, Norris is down but not out in his bid to win the drivers’ championship. If the Briton can secure another pole position (he would be the sixth driver to take consecutive poles at the track and equal the record for the longest pole streak too) and win the race - whilst not making any mistakes, he could certainly start the summer break on a high.

Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri post-race at the Belgian Grand Prix — Oscar Piastri currently leads the drivers’ championship by 16 points after round 13 | Credit: F1

Whilst also falling victim to making irrational small mistakes, Piastri has retained the drivers’ championship lead through consistency and his cool-headed nature. The Australian driver claimed his first-ever victory here last year, so a strong strategy from McLaren and himself could see him best Norris once again.

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton has not had the greatest inaugural season with Ferrari, with a sprint victory back in China being his only win this season, various upgrades such as ones to the floor have helped the Italian team improve their recent results - like Hamilton’s pit lane start to seventh in the Belgium Grand Prix.

Ultimately, Hamilton may have a limited chance at victory, but he holds a strong record at this track. A commanding race weekend could land Hamilton his ninth win, equalling his nine wins at Silverstone for the most at a single circuit.