10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Hungarian Grand Prix

There has been little time to reflect on the dramatic German Grand Prix for the F1 circus, with the sport swiftly moving to Hungary for the next round of the 2014 season. Here are 10 things you might not know about the Hungarian Grand Prix:

1. A stable home

This year’s Hungarian Grand Prix will be the 29th time that it has appeared on the F1 schedule. Unlike other older races on the calendar, the Hungaroring has been the home of the race since the first Hungarian GP in 1986 and has remained largely unchanged, bar a few tweaks to turn one and the final sector.

2. Most wins for Schumacher and Hamilton

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton share the top spot on the all-time Hungarian Grand Prix wins list. The two drivers have both won the event four times, while the late Ayrton Senna’s three victories make him the next most successful.

3. McLaren: masters of the Hungaroring

In the constructors’ table, McLaren has won the most F1 races in Hungary. The team has triumphed 11 times at the track, most recently in 2012. Next up is Williams on seven wins, with Ferrari in third on five victories.

The Hungaroring was famously the scene of a rather bizarre accident in 1995, when hapless Japanese driver Taki Inoue got run over by a marshal’s car. Ouch.

5. Hot, hot, hot

The weather over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend is typically baking hot, although a few more recent GPs here have featured a little rainfall. The warmer temperatures make it physically tougher for the drivers, as well as the team members.

6. A special race

The event is a special one for several drivers on the current F1 grid. Jenson Button took his debut victory in Formula 1 here back in 2006, after climbing from 14th to first in wet/dry conditions for Honda. He then won the 2011 race at the circuit in similar weather.

As mentioned earlier, Lewis Hamilton has won the event four times. The 2007 round in Hungary was only his 11th ever F1 race, while in 2009 his season transformed from that round onwards following a poor first half. He won here during his last season for McLaren in 2012, while his 2013 Hungary victory was his first for the Mercedes team.

Hungary was also the location of Fernando Alonso’s maiden F1 victory back in 2003, and Kimi Raikkonen has always gone well at the track, winning in 2005.

7. Track stats

The circuit is 2.722 miles long and features 14 turns, with a real mix of corner types. There will be two DRS zones this year; one on the pit straight and the other between turns one and two. Pirelli will bring the medium and soft compound tyre. The race will be 70 laps long.

8. A home driver?

Only one Hungarian has competed in Formula 1. Zsolt Baumgartner drove in two races for Jordan in 2003, before securing a full-time drive with backmarkers Minardi for 2004. He scored one point at the United States Grand Prix, but actually finished three laps down and in last place.

9. Still on the hunt

The Hungarian Grand Prix is one of only two races on the 2014 calendar that Sebastian Vettel hasn’t won. The other is the Russian Grand Prix, which is scheduled to make its debut in October.

10. A popular event

The race is one of the most popular on the calendar and draws in fans from all over Europe. The Finnish supporters are always out in force, with Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen to cheer on once again this year. “Many times Hungary has been called ‘the Grand Prix of Finland’,” said Raikkonen last year.