Hungaroring

The Hungaroring is in Mogyoród, near Budapest, and is run clockwise. The circuit is 4.381 kilometres long today and has 14 corners. It was built for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which in 1986 became the first Formula One race held behind the Iron Curtain. A street circuit in Budapest's Népliget park, modelled on Monaco, was originally under discussion. Instead, a new track was constructed outside the city near a major motorway.

For its first three years the lap measured 4.014 kilometres. In 1989 the chicane after turn three was removed by piping the stream underground. It had been installed as a temporary measure during construction after a spring was found on the intended line. The lap then measured 3.968 kilometres and grew in small steps to 3.975 kilometres by 2000. In 2003 the start and finish straight was extended by roughly 200 metres to 908 metres, the hairpin at its end was tightened, and so was turn 12, all in an effort to create more overtaking chances. The lap grew from 3.975 to 4.381 kilometres as a result.

The race takes place in high summer, usually in intense heat and dry weather. Sandy soil and little use during the rest of the year leave the surface dusty. Unlike most little-used circuits, it generally does not get faster over a weekend as a result. Because the track sits in a valley, about 80 per cent of it can be seen from any spot. Its tight, twisty and bumpy layout makes overtaking difficult in the dry, which has earned it the nickname Monaco without the barriers. The first wet race there came only in 2006.

From 1986 to 2026 the Hungaroring was on the Formula One calendar every year. The drivers' title was settled there in 1992 and 2001. The constructors' championship was decided in Hungary in 1996 for Williams and in 2001, 2002 and 2004 for Ferrari.