NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix

Formula 1 heads straight from Spa-Francorchamps to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend – the final race before the sport’s summer break.

First and second practice will take place on Friday, August 1, followed by final practice and Qualifying on Saturday, August 2 and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, August 3.

Vital statistics

• First Grand Prix – 1986
• Track Length – 4.381km
• Lap record – 1m 16.627s, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2020
• Most pole positions – Lewis Hamilton (9)
• Most wins – Lewis Hamilton (8)
• Trivia – The event has been the scene of several drivers’ first F1 victories, including Oscar Piastri in 2024, Esteban Ocon in 2021, Jenson Button in 2006 and Fernando Alonso in 2003 (more on that below)
• Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 476 metres
• Overtakes completed in 2024 – 65
• Safety Car probability – 25%*
• Virtual Safety Car probability – 25%*
• Pit stop time loss – 20.6 seconds

*From the last eight races in Hungary

The driver’s verdict

Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: Budapest feels like a small circuit when you’re there but there’s plenty that goes into it with 14 corners.

The first sector is basically two corners: a big braking zone at Turn 1, which is a relatively straightforward right-hander but quite bumpy in the braking area, so it can induce some front locking, before heading into Turn 2, which is slightly downhill.

The middle sector is one of those ones where you’ve got to find a rhythm because out of pretty much every corner you need to be positioned for the next corner coming through it. You go from Turn 4 into 6, then you get a tiny breather, but it carries you through the next sweeping section, building speed all the way.

In the final sector, sometimes the tyres are starting to overheat and you start to scramble around for a little bit of grip there. In the race, you’ve got to think about setting up your overtake coming out of Turn 14, the final corner, because that is your one chance to do something into Turn 1 and, if not, into Turn 2. If you don’t get it done there, you’re probably going to be following for the next lap.

I had some good battles here in GP2, and while it’s not easy to overtake in Hungary, you can. The layout of the circuit lends itself to overtaking at Turn 2, particularly as you can go inside or outside, so it can be hard to defend. It’s a nice one to have some battles at.

Last five Hungarian GP polesitters

• 2024 – Lando Norris (McLaren)
• 2023 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
• 2022 – George Russell (Mercedes)
• 2021 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
• 2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Last five Hungarian GP winners

• 2024 – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
• 2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2021 – Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
• 2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Tyre and strategy insight

“The trio of slick tyre compounds is the same as last year: C3 as hard, C4 as medium and C5 as soft,” reads Pirelli’s pre-weekend preview.

“Up until last year, these would have been the softest tyres of all, but this year, the C6 was introduced. However, the new compound would be too extreme a choice for a track that exerts this level of energy density on the tyres for every lap.

“Although the actual loads are not that high in absolute terms, the fact that the lap is short means that it increases cumulatively and significantly with each lap.

“Another factor that plays its part is the high temperature that usually accompanies the Hungarian weekend, leading to predominantly thermal degradation, exacerbated by the very dark track surface. In fact, last year’s race here saw the highest recorded track temperature of the season, at 58.6 Celcius.

“The most popular strategy [in 2024] was the two-stop, running various combinations of the C3 and C4. The medium performed best and 13 drivers chose it for the start. Of the remaining seven, four went with the soft and three with the hard.

“Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls was the only driver to get to the chequered flag having made just one stop, while some pitted three times, running a short final stint on the soft.

“The Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll made two stops, using all three compounds, having gone their own way in terms of tyre management in free practice. The Canadian drove the longest stint (14 laps) on the soft.”

Current form

Lando Norris ate into McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri’s championship lead via back-to-back victories in Austria and on home soil at Silverstone, but the Australian returned to the top step with a superb display of his own in the changeable Spa-Francorchamps conditions.

It means Piastri sits 16 points clear of Norris heading to the Hungaroring, where the former claimed his first Grand Prix win last year – but given the fine margins involved, either one of them could enter the upcoming summer break with the advantage.

Although McLaren can take plenty of confidence from their performance at the track some 12 months ago, and their generally imperious pace across the 2025 season so far, several rivals will be pushing to cause an upset when the weekend gets going.

Ferrari’s update in Belgium last time out appeared to move their SF-25 in the right direction, with Charles Leclerc returning to the podium, while Lewis Hamilton can draw on his records of nine pole positions and eight race wins here.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull also have recent form in Hungary, having won the 2022 and 2023 races, but will the Dutchman and team mate Yuki Tsunoda (who showed signs of improvement at Spa) be able to get the RB21 working around the tight, twisty Budapest venue?

Elsewhere, Mercedes are looking for answers to some serious questions after a difficult run, with a tight midfield group all ready to take advantage of any ongoing issues for the Silver Arrows and bag some more valuable points.

Iconic moment

There are so many iconic moments to choose from over the several decades of racing at the Hungaroring, but one particularly dramatic race – and landmark result – came during the 2006 season.

Starting back in 14th, Button excelled in the tricky wet/dry conditions to rise up the order and bring himself into contention, meaning he could capitalise when long-time leader Fernando Alonso lost a wheel nut and spun off.

After a hatful of podium finishes and several near-misses, it marked the first victory of Button’s F1 career, the first for Honda as a constructor since John Surtees’ win in Italy in 1967 and the first for a Honda engine since Gerhard Berger’s triumph in Australia in 1992.

Check out the action, and post-race emotions, in the video player below...