Race Date: 29 Jul 2012

Circuit Name: Hungaroring

Number of Laps: 70

Circuit Length: 4.381 km

Race Distance: 306.630 km

Lap Record: 1:19.071 - M Schumacher (2004)

Formula One Betting Online: The F1 Hungarian Grand Prix is held at Mogyoród, 20 km northeast of Budapest. The racetrack is in a valley, surrounded by a beautiful hillside, so you can enjoy much of the race from any point. You can also follow the race on several, well-positioned giant TV screens.

This season has been quite interesting so far, and the Hungarian circuit surely won’t be boring either. Though drivers often criticize the track, because it’s narrow and there are few points where they can overtake each other. After Monaco the Hungarian Grand Prix has the slowest average speed.

But you can never foretell who’s going to win the Hungarian Grand Prix, that’s why F1 fans like this circuit. Whoever wants to get first in the homestretch at the end of the race, has to have very good driving skills and a bit of luck.

The race is held in the hottest part of summer, which makes concentrating on the track for 2 hours rather demanding for the drivers.

Location

The Hungaroring is located just 20 kilometres along the highway from Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The city is actually split into two by the Danube River, with Buda being on the west bank and Pest on the east. The city is one of the most popular tourist destinations in all of Europe and is regularly compared to Paris due to its cobblestone paths and 19th century architecture. There are many clubs in Budapest and it has a vibrant nightlife that is popular with tourists. The region has been developing a strong economy over the past fifteen years since the removal of communist power.

Circuit Origins

Bernie Ecclestone was keen to hold a Formula One race 'behind the iron curtain' in the mid eighties and set his sights on Russia, although he ended up negotiating with Hungary instead. He asked them to build a street circuit around the largest park in Budapest that originally hosted motorsport in the nineteen thirties. This picturesque setting was turned down by the Hungarian Government who decided to build a permanent racetrack outside of the city instead. The circuit was constructed in only eight months, which is an incredible achievement considering they discovered an underground spring whilst clearing the ground and had to redesign part of the course. Changes were made to the circuit in 2003 in an effort to increase overtaking although it still remains one of the tightest on the calendar.

Racing History

Cars that do well at Monaco will usually be strong at Hungary as the two tracks share many characteristics. Along with the slow and tight layout, both circuits also produce very low levels of grip because they are rarely used. The Hungaroring is set in a natural bowl and that allows the wind to blow lots of dust onto the surface. It is so dirty that you can see plumes of grime flying up behind the cars on TV as they move off the racing line. Due to this, track conditions change dramatically over the weekend as more rubber goes down. Some teams will therefore have a strong race despite struggling during qualifying, which was clearly evident in 2008. It is actually a benefit to qualify third instead of second at Hungary because cars that start on the left hand side of the grid (odd numbers) will get away much better than the cars that have to start in the dirt. No driver or team has ever made the event their own which is probably because of the very specific set-up required. For many years the circuit held the distinction of being the only Grand Prix venue not affected by rain, but this changed in 2006 after a shower produced a brilliant F1 Hungarian Grand Prix.

2011 Hungarian Grand Prix Winner

Jenson Button won this afternoon’s Hungarian Grand Prix from Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, claiming victory in his 200th Grand Prix after rain thwarted what looked like a nailed on victory for Lewis Hamilton.

Though he got away cleanly, pole-sitter Vettel’s race pace simply wasn’t good enough to fend off the McLarens, with Lewis slipping past on lap five and Jenson on lap 14 after a cunningly early pit stop. But Lewis’ race fell apart on lap 47 when rain struck, causing him to spin and incur a drive-through penalty for almost obliterating Paul Di Resta as he rejoined the track. Things got worse when, spooked by the change in conditions, McLaren called their man in for intermediate tyres. The rain promptly stopped, Lewis made another stop to change back to slicks and ended up finishing fourth. Mark Webber and Felipe Massa had comparatively quieter races in fifth and sixth, while Paul Di Resta, Sebastien Buemi, Nico Rosberg and Jaime Alguersuari also picked up points.

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