The best Hungarian Grand Prix stats to know before Sunday’s race as McLaren aim for landmark win

Follow us on Google Discover

Formula 1 heads to the Hungaroring this weekend for the Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race on the calendar before the summer break.

Straight off the back of the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend, where Oscar Piastri extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship, McLaren will be looking to take their fourth consecutive 1-2 finish.

Heading into the weekend, Ferrari announced that team principal Fred Vasseur renewed his contract with the team after rumours that he could be sacked as Lewis Hamilton continues to struggle with his car, after joining the team in 2025 to become Formula 1’s second-best-paid driver.

Max Verstappen has confirmed he will remain at Red Bull for the 2026 season following heavy speculation that the four-time world champion was in discussion with Mercedes for a potential move. The news followed the Milton Keynes-based team informing the Dutchman of fundamental changes that were made in an effort to stop him leaving at the end of the year.

With the summer break on the horizon, George Russell will be looking to renew his contract at Mercedes, following the end of the speculation around Verstappen’s future. Russell, alongside his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, are amongst the five drivers out of contract at the end of the season.

Hungaroring circuit stats and history

The circuit has been part of the F1 calendar since 1986, and became the first race behind the Iron Curtain (a boundary which was in place between the end of World War II in 1945 and the end of the Cold War in 1991, that divided Europe into two separate areas).

With 14 corners, many following in quick succession, the Hungaroring is nicknamed “Monaco without barriers” due to its tight and twisting nature, which makes overtaking difficult. The 2024 Hungarian GP saw 65 overtakes, making it the 8th lowest last year.

It also has one of the lowest top speeds of the season at around 315km/h, with an average speed of 209.653km/h, making it the fifth slowest track on the calendar.

F1 cars spend around 10 seconds on a straight during a lap of the Hungaroring, with the rest of the lap time spent cornering. Just 60% of the lap is taken at full throttle, which is one of the lowest percentages of the year.

Tensions at McLaren rose during the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri took his maiden F1 victory at last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix after starting the race from P2, behind team-mate Lando Norris. The Aussie took the lead of the race at the start, but after the second pit stops, found himself behind his team-mate.

McLaren sent team orders to Norris to give the position back to Piastri, which led to a tense 17 laps, with the Brit repeatedly told to concede the place. Norris eventually gave way to his team-mate with just three laps remaining.

Following the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris told The Guardian he did not feel “too proud” about how he dealt with the situation, adding that he felt it “clouded over Oscar’s race win in F1.”

Landmarks that could be achieved at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix

The 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix will be Max Verstappen’s 200th race with Red Bull, making him the second driver to achieve a double century with one team. Lewis Hamilton is the only other driver to achieve the feat, competing in 246 races with Mercedes between 2013-2024.

McLaren could take their 200th race win this weekend, with the team previously taking 12 wins at the Hungaroring. Previous McLaren drivers to take a win at the Hungarian Grand Prix include: Ayrton Senna (1988, 1991, 1992), Mika Hakkinen (1999, 2000), Kimi Raikkonen (2005), Hamilton (2007, 2009, 2012), Heikki Kovalainen (2008), Jenson Button (2011) and Piastri (2024).

Kimi Antonelli and George Russell mixed records at the Hungaroring

Antonelli took his maiden F2 feature race win in Hungary last year. At 17 years old, he became the youngest multiple winner following his sprint victory at Silverstone just weeks before. This record has been broken by Arvid Linbland in 2025.

George Russell has struggled with his qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He has only managed to achieve a result higher than P12 once, when he took pole position in 2022.

Interesting facts about the Hungarian GP, including the bizarre end qualifying in 2009

Five F1 drivers have taken their maiden wins at the Hungaroring – Oscar Piastri (2024), Esteban Ocon (2021), Heikki Kovalainen (2008), Jenson Button (2006), Fernando Alonso (2003) and Damon Hill (1993). Hill took the win in the Williams from his pole-sitting team-mate Alain Prost who stalled on the parade lap. In taking the win, the British driver became the first son of a world champion to win a race.

Two world champions have been crowned at the Hungaroring. Nigel Mansell claimed the 1992 title after returning to Williams the year before. Michael Schumacher took his fourth drivers’ title in 2001, his second of five with Ferrari.

Only three drivers have managed to take three or more wins in Hungary, including Hamilton (8 wins), Schumacher (4 wins) and Senna (3 wins). Other than Hamilton, Verstappen is the only other driver with multiple wins at the Hungaroring with victories in 2022 and 2023.

The 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix brought a unique experience to qualifying, when the official timing system malfunctioned. As a result, drivers were left confused about their qualifying positions, asking each other for time comparisons. After lots of questioning, Alonso driving the Renault discovered he had set the fastest time of 1:25.569, ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

The 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix also saw the weirdest start in Formula 1 history. Wet weather conditions saw a dramatic Turn 1 incident involving Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes, McLaren’s Norris, both Red Bull’s and an AlphaTauri, who all went off. Before the rest of the cars had even made their way round the first corner, Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin also lost grip, crashing into the side of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, resulting in the other McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo also being spun.

Unsurprisingly, the race was red-flagged, and when the cars eventually returned to the track for a lap behind the safety car, it was evident that the Hungaroring was drying quickly. With a standing start ordered, 14 out of the remaining 15 cars boxed for slick tyres. Hamilton, who opted to remain on his intermediate tyres, was left as the only driver to line-up on the grid for the start.

The strategy decision paid off for Hamilton and Mercedes, who finished third in the race, with the Brit later being promoted to second after Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin failed to provide an adequate fuel sample.