Top 10 magic Magyar moments: 40 years of the Hungarian Grand Prix

It is 40 years since Formula 1 ventured behind the Iron Curtain for the first time and set up shop at the new Hungaroring, constructed on the outskirts of Hungary’s capital city, Budapest. Since then, the Hungarian Grand Prix has been a popular fixture on the schedule during the peak weeks of the European summer and has provided its fair share of dramatic moments, including first-time winners, charges through the field, and some controversial clashes.

Here are our top 10 Magyar moments – but which is the best?

1989: Mansell wins from 12th

Nigel Mansell won on his Ferrari debut at Brazil’s Jacarepagua Circuit in 1989 but the following races did not live up to expectations, and matters worsened in Hungary when Il Leone qualified a subdued 12th.

But on race day Mansell charged through the order and midway through was on the tail of leader Ayrton Senna, though the McLaren driver proved tough to overtake. But when Senna hesitated in lapping Stefan Johansson’s Onyx through Turn 3 Mansell remained committed and ducked inside to pass both in one swoop.

Mansell converted the lead into a famous win, at the venue where three years later he would go on to wrap up the 1992 world title with Williams.

1997: Hill’s late heartbreak

Damon Hill lost his seat at Williams after 1996 despite ending that year as World Champion, and for 1997 he wound up at Arrows – which was at best a midfield outfit. Hill scored just one point across the opening 10 Grands Prix, which included four successive retirements and a failure to start, but at the Hungaroring the Bridgestone-equipped Arrows A18 was surprisingly formidable.

Hill qualified a season-best third and overhauled both Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher to take the lead before cruising into the distance. Hill held a 34-second advantage but with three laps remaining a hydraulics failure struck.

Hill desperately tried to cling on to the lead but was powerless to prevent Villeneuve from passing on the final lap, and he had to settle for second spot. It was a cruel outcome for Hill, and for Arrows, a team which never won a Grand Prix.

1998: Schumacher’s epic drive

Hungary’s Grand Prix in 1998 was a classic case of Ferrari-era Michael Schumacher and engineering guru Ross Brawn in their domineering pomp. McLaren locked out the front row in Qualifying, and Mika Hakkinen led away from pole position, with Schumacher settling into third.

But Brawn switched Schumacher onto a three-stop strategy – and it proved to be a masterstroke. Schumacher’s rapid pace – in an era of in-race refuelling – was such that he emerged from his final stop at the head of the field, going on to take a victory that reignited his championship challenge.

2003: Alonso’s breakthrough win

In a year of wild performance fluctuations between the top teams, and in the first season of one-shot Qualifying, Fernando Alonso and Renault starred at the Hungaroring.

The Spaniard served notice of his talent during a standout rookie campaign for backmarkers Minardi in 2001, and early in 2003 scored a maiden pole and podium in Malaysia, before hassling Michael Schumacher for top spot on home turf in Spain.

In Hungary, it all came together. Alonso took pole by a quarter of a second and eased away from the opposition, even putting a lap on both team mate Jarno Trulli and reigning champion Schumacher. He crossed the line to become Formula 1’s then youngest-winner, at the age of 22, and the first driver from Spain to win a Grand Prix.

2006: Button wins at last

By the time Formula 1 ventured to Hungary in 2006 Jenson Button was in danger of becoming a nearly man, with a respectable 13 podiums and three pole positions, but still no victory to his name.

That trend looked set to continue when his Honda engine let go during practice, rubber-stamping a 10-place grid penalty, and in the process turning fourth in Qualifying into 14th. His underwhelming campaign looked set to continue, but wet weather impacted a race in Hungary for the first time and Button displayed rapid pace, hurtling up the order.

Early leader Kimi Raikkonen wiped himself out by clattering into backmarker Vitantonio Liuzzi, while shortly after switching to slick tyres on a drying track Fernando Alonso was pitched into the barriers when a wheel nut detached. Button inherited the lead, kept his composure, and won by half a minute.

2007: Drama in the pit lane

Most of the drama which unfolded in 2007 happened not during the race, but in the closing stages of Qualifying, between feuding McLaren team mates Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton went out on track ahead of Alonso at the start of Q3, in contravention of the team’s instructions, and Alonso retaliated in the closing minutes by remaining in the pit box – in front of Hamilton – despite being waved to go.

Alonso squeezed in a lap to take pole but Hamilton – as Alonso had intended – had insufficient time to complete an out-lap and was denied a second Q3 lap as a result.

The stewards handed Alonso a five-place grid penalty, McLaren was stripped of any points it would earn in Sunday’s race, and would not be awarded a Constructors’ trophy on the podium if they won. Hamilton duly triumphed in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

2014: Ricciardo’s late show

In an eventful wet/dry Grand Prix in Hungary, title rivals Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton bookended the grid after Hamilton suffered a failure in Q1, but neither Mercedes driver won the day.

Rosberg lost out through Safety Car timing in the early sequence of the race, in which Marcus Ericsson and Sergio Perez both crashed heavily – with Sebastian Vettel very nearly joining them in the wall.

Fernando Alonso wound up leading a recovering Hamilton and a fresher-tyred Daniel Ricciardo, and it was the Red Bull newbie who thrived. Ricciardo passed Hamilton around Turn 2 before diving past Alonso into Turn 1 with two laps remaining, pulling off a famous win.

2019: Hamilton overhauls Verstappen

Max Verstappen took his maiden pole position in Hungary in 2019 and retained track position, keeping Lewis Hamilton at bay and resisting an attempt by Hamilton after their mandatory stops.

But such was their pace advantage that Mercedes recognised an opportunity and took a gamble, pitting Hamilton for a second time and in the process giving him fresher tyres and free air.

Hamilton faced a 15-second deficit to Verstappen but carved into the Red Bull driver’s lead and made the winning move with four laps remaining. Such was their pace performance over the rest of the field that Verstappen was the only driver to finish within a minute of winner Hamilton.

2021: Chaos in the wet

The wet start to Hungary’s race in 2021 was one of the most dramatic the circuit had ever seen as separate Turn 1 incidents accounted for several front-runners.

Valtteri Bottas' misjudgement wiped out Lando Norris and Sergio Perez, and caused substantial damage to Max Verstappen’s car, while behind him Lance Stroll clattered into Charles Leclerc, who spun Daniel Ricciardo.

Lewis Hamilton avoided the drama up front but the circuit dried during the subsequent stoppage, and prior to the restart every driver bar Hamilton ducked into the pit lane for slicks – resulting in the bizarre scenario of only Hamilton lining up on the grid.

Once he duly pitted, it was Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who found himself up front, and from there the Frenchman ran a composed race to pick up an unlikely maiden win – aided by the resilient defence team mate Fernando Alonso put up against a recovering Hamilton.

2024: A complex first for Oscar

Lando Norris finished top in Qualifying but McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri made the better start to lead early on.

The first round of pit stops passed without incident but during the second phase McLaren gave Norris the advantageous undercut to protect against Lewis Hamilton, and when Piastri made his pit stop he emerged behind new leader Norris.

McLaren instructed Norris to cede the place back to Piastri but he remained ahead, causing doubts over whether he would obey the order, until he eventually slowed and allowed the sister car through with three laps remaining. Piastri thus slipped by and collected his first Grand Prix win.