NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

After a busy triple header, Formula 1 now heads to the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Going into the weekend, Need to Know is your all-in-one guide with stats, trivia, insight and much more. You can also see how fans have voted using our F1 Play predictor game.

First and second practice will take place on Friday, July 19, followed by final practice and qualifying on Saturday, July 20 and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, July 21.

IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we're excited about ahead of the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

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 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 2023 – 51
• Safety Car probability – 25%*
• Virtual Safety Car probability – 25%*
• Pit stop time loss – 20.56 seconds

*From the last eight races in Hungary

FAN VIEW: There is a difference of opinion when it comes to the F1 Play victory predictions for this race, with Max Verstappen (28%), Lando Norris (27.4%) and Charles Leclerc (27.1%) all garnering favour from gamers. Oscar Piastri (17.1%) in the sister McLaren to Norris is the other expected contender at the front.

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.

WATCH: 5 great Hungarian Grand Prix battles from the F1 archive

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.

DHL Fastest Lap Award – 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix

Last five Hungarian GP pole-sitters

• 2023 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
• 2022 – George Russell (Mercedes)
• 2021 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
• 2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
• 2019 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

THIS WEEK IN F1: 10 tricky quiz questions on Grand Prix history in Hungary and the week's F1 news

Last five Hungarian GP winners

• 2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2021 – Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
• 2020 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
• 2019 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

FAN VIEW: F1 Play gamers are split across several names in terms of who could take pole in Hungary, with Versteppen narrowly ahead of Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, George Russell and Carlos Sainz to be the quickest over a single lap at the Hungaroring.

Hamilton scored a memorable pole position at the Hungaroring in 2023

Tyre and strategy insight

"The Hungaroring is very twisty with only one real straight that includes the start-finish line," reads Pirelli's weekend preview. "It provides the most likely, if not the only, overtaking opportunity.

"There are 14 corners, six to the left and eight to the right, some of them being 180° turns. The track climbs and drops and its 4.381 kilometres make it one of the shortest on the calendar, almost the opposite to Spa, which at seven kilometres is the longest!

"All those turns mean the drivers have no time to take a breather over the 70-lap race distance. There are two DRS zones: one on the start-finish straight and the other much shorter on the descent from Turn 1 to 2, with just the one detection zone before the entry into the final corner.

"In terms of the forces exerted on the tyres, the Hungaroring is not particularly severe. Pirelli has chosen the same three softest compounds as last year, with the C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as the P Zero Yellow medium and the C5 as the P Zero Red soft, which is a step softer compared to the season in which the 18” tyres first appeared.

"Traction is one of the most important factors, especially across the rear axle. Degradation can be high, especially when it is very hot and the forecast for this weekend is definitely not favourable in this regard, when one thinks back to last year when Hungary saw the highest recorded track temperature of the season at 53°C.

"Overheating is therefore a factor that needs to be kept under control, not just in the race but also in qualifying: on the softest compound a driver must manage to get to the last two 180° corners of a flying lap with enough grip left, which is no mean feat, as the short straight sections of track do not give the tyres much time to breathe."

FAN VIEW: It appears Verstappen, the Ferraris and McLarens are expected to head the field, with Mercedes set to be off the pace, according to F1 Play gamers. Hamilton and Russell do, however, attract a fair share of the votes outside the top five for a podium finish.

The Hungarian Grand Prix has long been a fixture on the F1 calendar

Current form

The pecking order has seen some fascinating developments across recent races, with Mercedes turning their form around after a challenging start to the season to claim back-to-back victories in Austria and Great Britain.

However, McLaren were never far from the action at the front. Norris looked to be in contention for the win at both races, before an infamous late-race collision with Verstappen resulted in him retiring from the former, while strategy mishaps put paid to his chances at the latter.

HINCH'S HEROES: Who does IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe reckon shone at Silverstone?

Speaking of Verstappen, the Red Bull man might not have stood on the top step of the podium during the past two events but he remains ahead in the drivers' standings, holding 255 points to maintain an advantage of 84 points over second-placed Norris.

The Dutchman's team mate Sergio Perez, meanwhile, is under pressure to improve and ensure that the squad's position at the top of the constructors' battle does not slip away.

Another interesting factor for the weekend ahead is that of Ferrari's place in the standings, with the Scuderia having faced some difficult weekends of late. Can they bounce back at the Hungaroring and put themselves back into contention?

FAN VIEW: F1 Play gamers appear to be set on a top seven this weekend, with Verstappen’s Red Bull team mate Perez not in the reckoning. The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, along with the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, are the two names that appear regularly as potential points scorers.

Race Highlights: 2024 British Grand Prix

Iconic moment

As mentioned in the trivia section, the Hungaroring has witnessed several F1 drivers taking victory for the first time. Many of these wins have proven to be memorable, but on this occasion we're going to rewind 21 years to reflect on Alonso's debut P1 finish back in 2003.

In a season that had already seen seven different drivers win a race across the first 12 Grands Prix, Alonso bolstered his chances of adding his name to the list by securing pole position for Renault on Saturday in Budapest.

F1 NATION: Mercedes to win again? Another chance for McLaren? More to come from Red Bull? It’s our Hungarian GP preview

This was only the second pole of his Formula 1 career, having previously lined up in first place earlier in the season at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Alonso failed to turn that one into a victory, but history was not going to repeat itself in Hungary.

After briefly losing the lead during the early pit stops phase, Alonso soon resumed the position and went on to surge to his debut F1 win. Aged 22, this made the Renault man the youngest-ever driver to win a Grand Prix – a record that he held until it was broken by Sebastian Vettel in 2008 – as well as being the first Spaniard to claim victory.

Watch a classic moment from the race unfold below...

Classic Hungary: 2003 Alonso Schumacher

Elsewhere in Budapest

There’s more activity taking place this weekend as part of the wider Sustainability Strategy that Formula 1 introduced in 2019, which includes the goal of being Net Zero by 2030, leaving a legacy of positive change and creating a more diverse sport that reflects the world in which we race.

A local institution, which is almost 200 years old, who help children who are blind or visually impaired learn key educational skills will bring students along for a special paddock visit, where they’ll receive garage tours and meet some of their F1 heroes. There will also be a unique exhibition in the Fan Zone to showcase Braille-focused art.

Every Can Counts is a fan initiative encouraging event attendees to recycle their plastic bottles and aluminium cans. Each recycling box features a question that fans can vote on by dropping their empty bottles and cans into their preferred response.
In the ‘ChillZone’, fans will learn which Sustainable Development Goals the circuit focuses on using interactive activations. Special attention will be placed on sustainable consumption, equality for all, and health and wellbeing, with fans invited to take part in mindfulness sessions across the weekend.