By Mark Gero
With only one week before the summer break in the formula 1 world championship, the grid will now head to a different type of circuit—one that is quite different than the last one in Belgium.
Spa-Franchorchamps had a long lap and fast type of circuit. But this weekend there will be a different type of track, one that is short, with sharp, winding turns and only one straightaway, and that is the Hungaroring.
This circuit was first on the calendar in 1986, when there was still the east verses west cold war going on. The then Formula 1 president, Bernie Ecclestone, proposed and convinced the officials there to hold a grand prix. The circuit was finally built at a water park in the Northeast suburb of Budapest in a small village called Mogyorod, where the current circuit remains.
But even before the race was held in the mid 1980’s, the grand prix itself began not then, but in 1936, when the race was held in town called Nepiglet, There, the Mercedes Benz were dominate, and this lasted until the Second World War. After this, the idea of having a race in this country never came about for fifty years, until Ecclestone’s idea finally changed the idea of having the country host a race.
At that revived first grand prix, 200,000 people showed up, mostly from Eastern Europe, wondering about this new idea that came from the west. But for some reason, following the demise of the Iron Curtain, the race continued, and every year, fans from all over the world come to this venue, which is beginning to be a classic as the years go by.
Besides the host nation, most fans that attend are from Finland, who cheered on such drivers as Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, Heikki Kovalainen, and Valtteri Bottas. Although except for the latter, who might be driving for a team next season, the Finns do not have a driver to cheer for, but the attendance still does not stop them from going to the grand prix.
This circuit though, besides this weekend’s grand prix, does not host any other event, which makes this circuit very dusty and difficult to pass. It takes some strategy to win this race, and in some conditions, considering the event sometimes is very warm, it can rain, which was demonstrated in 2006, when Jenson Button worked his way through the grid from 14th and won his first grand prix. That was followed by the first lap collision of the major drivers in 2021, which gave Esteban Ocon his first and only grand prix victory so far in his career.
Last season was a very controversial race, which saw the two favored McLarens finish 1-2 as Lando Norris led most of the race. But his teammate, Oscar Piastri, was much faster, and on the last lap, after arguing with his engineer, the Briton finally pulled aside and let Piastri through, giving his Australian rival his first victory. So, what could happen this season is a question to be answered on race day, where the two will battle each other in a season which has been dominated by the papaya pair. And with the possibility of light rain, this event could be reminded of what can happen on a circuit like this when the weather changes.
Being victorious in this race does have its traditions. The winner of this race gets a porcelain trophy, which has been going on since the event began. Norris also has a tradition of slamming his champagne bottle onto the podium and having it squirt tremendously out at a quick rate.
This circuit though, like some others, did face the possibility of being taken off the calendar. But the promise of rebuilding the circuit for this year’s race got approval from formula one, which extended this race until 2032, so there are no difficulties about not keeping this race around.
WHEEL2WHEEL REPORTS 