Racing on the Hungaroring
It is almost time for the last GP before the summer break, but first Formula 1 travels to Budapest. There is the GP of Hungary next weekend, at the Hungaroring.
Times GP Hungary
No complicated schedule again this weekend, but a regular race weekend. There is also no time difference, which means that the race will start at 3 p.m. Dutch time starts, as is the case with numerous European races.
| Day | Session | Time (Dutch time) |
| Friday July 21 | First free practice | 13.30 – 14.30 |
| Friday July 21 | Second free practice | 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm |
| Saturday July 22 | Third free practice | 12.30 – 13.30 |
| Saturday July 22 | Qualification | 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm |
| Sunday July 23 | Race | 3:00 pm |
Championship standings
Max Verstappen has disappeared on the horizon and is now almost 100 points ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez. If we exclude Max, it is quite an exciting season, because Pérez, Alonso and Hamilton are still quite close together. It is also striking that the penny is exchanged between Russell and Leclerc for P6 and that Lando Norris is now in the top 10 due to his second place in Silverstone.
| driver | Pt. |
| 1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull | 255 |
| 2. Sergio Perez – Red Bull | 156 |
| 3. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin | 137 |
| 4. Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes | 121 |
| 5. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari | 83 |
| 6.George Russell-Mercedes | 82 |
| 7.Charles Leclerc-Ferrari | 74 |
| 8. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin | 44 |
| 9. Lando Norris-McLaren | 42 |
| 10. Esteban Ocon – Alpine | 31 |
There is also a striking shift going on in the teams. McLaren’s better form is starting to pay off and now the British team has overtaken Alpine’s French rivals in the championship. Meanwhile further up Mercedes is strengthening its second place now that Aston Martin is less in shape. Finally, Williams deserves a big compliment; after years of being a rearguard team, that can be found more in midfield this year. In the championship mode you are starting to see that a bit now.
| Constructor | Pt. |
| Red Bull | 411 |
| Mercedes | 203 |
| Aston Martin | 181 |
| Ferrari | 157 |
| McLaren | 59 |
| Alpine | 47 |
| Williams | 11 |
| Hare | 11 |
| Alfa Romeo | 9 |
| AlphaTauri | 2 |
Circuit
The Hungaroring is an indispensable part of Formula 1. The first Grand Prix was held here 37 years ago and since then there has been a GP every year. The circuit was opened in 1986 and it was quite special that Formula 1 arrived there immediately that year. At that time, Hungary was still behind the Iron Curtain. However, it turned out to be a great success and for many years the Hungarian Grand Prix has attracted a lot of attention, also from abroad. It is also a relatively popular GP to visit among the Dutch, because it is one of the cheapest GPs and the circuit is close to Budapest.
The Hungaroring is quite a short and winding circuit and is jokingly referred to by some drivers as a Mickey Mouse track. Overtaking is certainly not easy and, moreover, because of the location there is often a chance of treacherous weather. A heavy shower can just appear over the hills and hang over the circuit. Rain or not; next Sunday there are 70 laps on the program, good for a total race distance of more than 306 km. The fastest race lap is in the hands of Lewis Hamilton, who lapped in 1:16.627 during the GP in 2020. He is also the most frequent winner of the Hungarian GP; as many as eight times.
Weather
Once again, Formula 1 is in for a changeable weather. In Budapest there is a chance of rain every day this weekend and some weather stations are even counting on a thunderstorm. However, the sun will also show itself regularly. Treacherous conditions are therefore likely, so you can count on the rain radars being closely monitored.
.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl