Hungarian Grand Prix 2026: How to watch, F1 race and qualifying start times, and weather forecast

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Formula 1 heads straight from Spa to Budapest for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix, so here is everything that you need to know from session times to the weather forecast.

The last round before the summer break is now upon us, with F1 about to enter a four-week break following the Hungarian GP. Every F1 team must close their factory for two full weeks at any stage from this week’s event and the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 21-23.

Mercedes racer Andrea Kimi Antonelli will hope to enter the summer break on another high after he won the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position last Sunday. The Italian registered his sixth pole and sixth win of the season so far at Spa from only the first 10 rounds of the term.

Antonelli also now heads Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton atop the F1 drivers’ standings with 204 and 159 points respectively. Hamilton’s first-lap collision with George Russell in Belgium saw the Mercedes ace retire at Les Combes and drop to third in the championship on 154 points.

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Russell now goes to the Hungaroring desperate for a bounce-back result to give him a boost entering the summer break. The summer break also officially marks the point where an exit clause in Max Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull will become active, as it is impossible for the four-time champion to finish Sunday’s Hungarian GP inside the top two in the standings.

So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer takes a look at everything that you need to know ahead of the 2026 Hungarian GP – including the weather forecast in Budapest for this week’s race.

When is the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix? Full Budapest race weekend schedule

The Hungarian Grand Prix marks round 11 of the 2026 F1 season, and will take place on July 24-26. This weekend’s race also marks the final round before F1’s four-week summer break.

How to watch the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix live on TV in the UK, and where to find free highlights

Sky Sports is the exclusive home of live Formula 1 coverage in the UK, and will broadcast its usual race weekend coverage for the 2026 Hungarian GP. Channel 4 will also offer its normal highlight-based coverage of qualifying and the Grand Prix a few hours after those sessions.

Free highlights of qualifying and the Hungarian GP will also be available via the Sky Sports and official Formula 1 YouTube channels shortly after the sessions. Channel 4 will also offer its highlight packages through its website following the terrestrial network’s TV coverage.

What is the weather forecast for the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix?

F1 is once again expected to relish the European summer sunshine as it heads to Budapest for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix. But the forecast for the Hungarian GP does not suggest Formula 1 will be racing in conditions as hot as the region has experienced in recent weeks.

The teams and drivers can still expect a hot weekend in Budapest, though, as the only rain on the pre-event forecast is set to arrive hours after the Hungarian GP finishes. The race on Sunday is even set to take place amid the hottest conditions on the forecast this weekend.

Practice on Friday will see the coolest conditions expected at the Hungarian GP, with highs of 22°C expected for FP1 rising to 25°C for FP2. But practice on Friday will also see some of the highest wind speeds all weekend, with speeds of 11mph amid gusts of 27mph forecast for FP1 and speeds of 11mph amid gusts of 30mph then expected for FP2 in the afternoon.

Qualifying day on Saturday, in contrast, is set to see the calmest conditions forecast for the Hungarian GP weekend, but temperatures will steadily rise. Despite the forecast showing heavy cloud cover for FP3, the teams can expect temperatures of around 24°C amid 5mph wind speeds. The clouds shifting will then see the temperature rise to 28°C for qualifying.

The teams will then have to rely on the data they gathered during FP2 on Friday, as the pre-event forecast for the Hungarian GP indicates temperatures as high as 31°C for the race this Sunday. Wind levels are also expected to increase again to as much as 12mph, with gusts of 29mph also likely – contrasting to the mere 1mph wind speeds expected during qualifying.

Where is the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix held?

Formula 1 stages the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring near Budapest, and the track will continue to host the race through at least 2032 after last signing a new contract in 2023.

The Hungaroring has held every edition of the Hungarian GP since F1 first staged the race in 1986, which also marked the series’ first Grand Prix held behind the Iron Curtain. F1 races at the Hungaroring are not often packed with overtakes, however, owing to the circuit’s layout.

F1 teams and drivers must optimise high-downforce aero set-ups for the Hungarian GP, too, due to the tight and twisty layout of the circuit. Only the pit straight and the run from Turn 1 down the hill to Turn 2 are high speed and the normal overtaking areas in the Hungarian GP.

Who won the last F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in 2025?

The 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix was on paper another show of dominance by McLaren, as Lando Norris beat teammate Oscar Piastri by just 0.698 seconds to win the race. Mercedes rival George Russell also finished 21.916s off the lead as he rounded out the podium in P3.

But the story of the race was very different, as Ferrari star Charles Leclerc scored a surprise pole position for the 2025 Hungarian GP and looked likely to convert it into the win. But his hopes for what would have been the Scuderia’s only win in 2025 fell apart during the race.

Ferrari increased Leclerc’s tyre pressures at his final pit stop during the 2025 Hungarian GP, after growing concerned that the Monegasque might wear his underfloor plank out. Their changes proved detrimental, though, as Leclerc lost all speed after his stop on Lap 40/70.

In the end, Leclerc fell to fourth place and even received a five-second penalty for driving erratically while trying to stop Russell from taking P3 that saw him finish 42.560s off the lead. Norris, on the other hand, reaped the full rewards from his strategy to win the race.

Norris initially fell behind Russell at the start of the race and he failed to find a way back in front of his fellow Briton. So, McLaren let Norris change to a one-stop strategy in the 2025 Hungarian GP, and it let him undercut Piastri (who was on a two-stopper) and get the lead.