Formula 1: Looking back at the last five Hungarian Grands Prix

The Hungaroring is a not a Formula 1 track to be trifled with. It’s fast and dusty and reliability plays a major role at it. Who will conquer it in 2018?

The Hungaroring is a joy to race at and Budapest is one of the finest cities in Europe. Together they provide the best venue to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix before the summer break. But while the 2.722-mile (4.381-kilometer) circuit is fantastic to drive, it is also a notorious place for a lack of overtaking, which means that Saturday qualifying will be critical for the top six drivers.

But the Hungaroring is also a track at which terminal mechanical failures and crashes happen like clockwork. Therefore, drivers need to balance reliability and speed to win.

Germany saw an unbelievable comeback win from P14 for Lewis Hamilton, but unless the weather plays a role again, don’t expect another charge through the field if a top driver starts at or near the back of the grid. So what can we expect?

Well, the last five races at the Hungaroring have seen the polesitter win twice. Four of the last five races have featured at least one safety car period. If history can teach us anything, it’s that the Hungaroring doesn’t play favorites, so who has the best chance to overcome the its reputation to conquer it? Let’s find out.

2013

Hamilton took his fourth win in Hungary in 2013 in convincing fashion by 10.938 seconds over Kimi Raikkonen, who drove for Lotus at the time. While the 2013 race didn’t feature a safety car, it did feature five retirements due to mechanical issues, most notably Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes engine giving out after 64 laps. Because of the track’s short nature, eight drivers finished on the lead lap and five drivers finished out lap down while the drivers of the now-defunct Caterham and Marussia teams finished two and three laps down, respectively.

2014

In 2014, Hamilton and Raikkonen, who had now returned to Ferrari, put together sublime drives to recover from poor qualifying efforts. Hamilton’s poor qualifying effort took place due to his engine blowing in Q1. While the pair finished in P3 and P6, respectively, the safety car periods and the battle between Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso for the win after they started P4 and P5, respectively, was the real show of the afternoon. Ricciardo was able to claim the victory. With six drivers being forced to retire, including four as a result of crashes, the 2014 race was one of slowest in recent history.

2015

In 2015, Mercedes’ starting problems continued. Despite a Mercedes 1-2 start, neither one of their two drivers could get traction at the start and they subsequently lost their qualifying advantage. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel picked up the slack after starting in P3 and led all but one lap of the race en route to his second win of the season. In typical Hungaroring fashion, five drivers were forced to retire, with four being forced to do so as a result of mechanical issues.

2016

The 2016 race was the first incident-free race at the Hungaroring in a long time despite Jenson Button’s retirement due to an oil leak on lap 61. Hamilton, meanwhile, led 66 of the race’s 70 laps to claim win and secure a close 1-2 finish for Mercedes, as he won by just 1.977 seconds over Rosberg. Just as he did in 2014, Raikkonen made a spirited charge through the grid from P14 to finish in P6.