Everything you need to know about the Hungaroring Race Track.

Formula One Weekend July 27 – 30, 2017

Pit Walk:  It is Thursday, 3 pm and we are in a hurry to get to the Hungaroring Race Track for the Pit Walk from 4pm to 6pm.  We are staying in Budapest (read the blog) and the track is about a half hour drive from our Motel DOJO (read the review).

The sun is shining it is a comfortable 20 degrees celsius and we are in a long line to get into the entrance / parking at the Hungaroring, Gate 8.  We finally get in at around 4:25 pm, find a parking spot – free today – and make our way to the pit, an approximate 5 minute walk.

We spent 1.5 hours strolling the track, doing the pit walk and getting lots of pictures. My husband bought a race program for €15.  Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton surprised the crowd by showing up, shouting greetings and giving autographs.  He was full of smiles and perhaps gained more fans; he was the only driver we saw interacting with the crowd.

As we came by the garage of team Sauber we saw the German driver Pascal Wehrlein; my partner shouted out a hello and was rewarded with a super friendly smile.  Thank you Pascal!

Back at the car (6:10pm), traffic is not moving – at all. Standstill. It finally started moving at 7:50 pm and 15 minutes later we were on the highway back to Budapest.

Practice Sessions: Friday – The sun is shining and it is 28 degrees celsius. We left at noon in order to give ourselves enough time for traffic, lineups and parking; arrived at the 2 pm second practice session where we had great seats in the Gold section!  Very exciting!  Parking was once again free, but we were a little further away this time.

Qualifying Sessions Q1, Q2, Q3:  Saturday – Parking today cost us 2000 Hungarian Forint / €6.50 – until today it was free parking and you could sit wherever you wanted, today you pay for parking and sit in your assigned ticket seats.  It is a hot, sunny 31 degrees celsius.
Note:  They DO NOT sell sun cream so make sure you take some or start a weekend business!

Formula One Race Day! Sunday – sunny, 34 degrees celsius
Sum it up:  Super hot, huge crowds, exciting race ?!!!
Sebastian Vettel came in first followed closely by team mate Kimi Raikkonen.  Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton respectively took 3rd and 4th positions.

We happily accept that, according to Sebastian Vettel himself, the win was due to my husbands wild cheering and thumbs up every time he passed us by! Congratulations on a great race!

Quoted from the Formula1.com Post Race Conference, Mr. Vettel said:  There was a guy out of the chicane, every single lap he was thumbs up, thumbs up and keeping us going, so it was really great.

Weekend at a Glance:
Thursday, 27 July 2017
16:00 - 18:00 Public Pit Lane Walk For 3 day ticket holders only
18:00 - 18:30 F1 Experience Track Tour F1 Experience guests only
18:30 - 19:00 F1 Experience Pit Lane Walk F1 Experience guests only
Friday, 28 July 2017
10:00 - 11:30 FIA FORMULA ONE FIRST PRACTICE SESSION (P1)
11:55 - 12:40 FIA FORMULA 2 PRACTICE SESSION
13:10 - 13:25 F1 Experience F1 2-seater
14:00 - 15:30 FIA FORMULA ONE SECOND PRACTICE SESSION (P2)
15:55 - 16:25 FIA FORMULA 2 QUALIFYING SESSION
16:45 - 17:30 PORSCHE MOBIL1 SUPERCUP PRACTICE SESSION
17:50 - 18:35 GP3 SERIES PRACTICE SESSION
Saturday, 29 July 2017
8:30 - 9:15 FIA FORMULA ONE Team pit stop practice
9:45 - 10:15 GP3 SERIES QUALIFYING SESSION
11:00 - 12:00 FIA FORMULA ONE THIRD PRACTICE SESSION (P3)
12:20 - 12:50 PORSCHE MOBIL1 SUPERCUP QUALIFYING SESSION
13:00 - 13:20 FIA FORMULA 2 Drivers' Track Parade
14:00 - 15:00 FIA FORMULA ONE QUALIFYING SESSION (Q1,Q2,Q3)
15:15 - 15:35 F1 Experience F1 2-seater
16:00 - 17:05 FIA FORMULA 2 FIRST RACE (37 laps or 60 minutes)
17:35 - 18:20 GP3 SERIES FIRST RACE (22 laps or 40 minutes)
18:30 - 18:50 Promoter Activity Drivers' Fan Forum
Sunday, 30 July 2017
9:10 - 9:45 GP3 SERIES SECOND RACE (17 laps or 30 minutes)
10:20 - 11:10 FIA FORMULA 2 SECOND RACE (28 laps or 45 minutes)
11:30 - 12:05 PORSCHE MOBIL1 SUPERCUP RACE (14 laps or 30 minutes)
12:15 - 12:20 F1 Experience F1 2-seater
12:30 FIA FORMULA ONE Drivers' Track Parade
13:00 - 13:15 FIA FORMULA ONE Starting grid presentation
13:40 FIA FORMULA ONE Pit Lane closed, grid formation
13:46 FIA FORMULA ONE National Anthem
14:00 - 16:00 FIA FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX (70 laps or 120 minutes)

Things to know about the Hungaroring:

– ample washrooms / toilets and hand washing areas
– shade is not predominant so take sun cream and hats, unless you are in the gold seating which has a roof
– there are many food and drink booths, but you may take your own food and drink in.  Exceptions:  No Glass, No Cans
– park in your area or you will have a long walk, remember where you parked
– Dog boarding is within a 20 minute drive of the Hungaroring.  See my review of Dogmopolite Dog Boarding.
– Hungaroring is approximately 20 minutes from Budapest, but allow sufficient time for traffic jams (in both directions)

If you have more questions or suggestions, please use the comments section below.