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Hungary: Anything can happen...

The Hungarian Grand Prix has forever held a reputation of being dull, processional and repetitive, with dull being in stark contrast to the usual weather conditions at the Hungaroring venue. Despite this reputation, the race has thrown up a string of unusual results with seven different winners in as many years since 2002.             

On its debut in front of 200,000 spectators in 1986, the Hungarian Grand Prix was staged at a new circuit, designed and constructed approximately 18 kilometres (just over 11 miles) from downtown Budapest, the nation's capital; the city itself is a cocktail of mature architecture and more modern designs with the old part of the city, Buda, separated from the new one, Pest, by the River Danube.

Senna leads Piquet, Prost and Mansell in 1986

The first Grand Prix saw the Williams of Nelson Piquet go wheel-to-wheel with Ayrton Senna's Lotus, with the former coming out on top after pulling off a move around the outside of Turn 1, the only real passing place on the track in dry circumstances. Piquet repeated his winning form the following year before Senna took his turn in 1988, his first title-winning season for McLaren. Nigel Mansell and Ferrari triumphed in 1989 although the Englishman's sweetest result in the Hungarian Grand Prix was that of 1992, finally wrapping up the title for Williams after 13 seasons of trying.

In his 180th Grand Prix start, Mansell clinched the title in 1992

The 1990 race saw the third and final career victory of Belgium's Thierry Boutsen for Williams, with Senna taking the laurels again in both '91 and '92. Michael Schumacher is the man with most Hungaroring victories to his name, with one win for Benetton in 1994 followed by a superlative performance with a string of qualifying laps in the 1998 race to win for Ferrari, beating the slowing McLaren of Mika Häkkinen in the process. Schumacher's next Hungaroring win came in 2001, powering to another crushing defeat of the opposition and clinching his fourth world title at the same time before taking one more dominant victory at the venue three years later.

Häkkinen took two consecutive victories at the end of the last decade and beginning of this, repeating the feat of Jacques Villeneuve's Williams in 1996 and 1997, the latter of which saw victory snatched from the jaws of victory for Damon Hill and the Arrows team on the final lap of the Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher is the man with most wins in Hungary

From its 23 races to date, Hungarian crowds have witnessed the deciding of two Drivers' World Championships and first-time race winners on no less than four occasions; Hill was the first to do this, crossing the line in the lead for Williams in 1993 before doing so again two years later. In 2003, Fernando Alonso well and truly stole the show by rocketing off the line from pole to take, not only his first Grand Prix win, but the first for a Spaniard in Formula One and Renault's first since re-entering the sport the previous season. In 2002, Rubens Barrichello has stepped onto the top of the podium after a faultless drive to victory with team-mate Schumacher in hot pursuit; it was this win for the Brazilian which started an ongoing chain of different winners at the Central European circuit.

Fernando Alonso and Renault win in stunning fashion in 2003

After the victories for Alonso and Schumacher in 2003 and 2004, Kimi Räikkönen and McLaren clinched a much-needed win during the 2005 campaign as team-mate Juan-Pablo Montoya lost out with gearbox issues. The 2006 race was the most dramatic in Hungary so far, chiefly due to one rare ingredient - rain; with championship contenders Alonso and Schumacher battling through from mid-grid starting positions, a remarkable drive from the Honda of Jenson Button saw the Englishman rise from 14th on the grid (two places lower than Mansell in '89) to clinch the victory having been written off in the media - Frome-born Jenson will be hoping for more of the same when arriving as championship leader this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton won from pole for McLaren two years ago

Judging from the past two seasons' results, one would look to McLaren for victory in Hungary as Lewis Hamilton registered a third career win in 2007, amid the controversy of 'spygate' and the bitter rivalry between himself and World Champion team-mate Fernando Alonso which saw the team score no Constructors' points after Saturday's antics of delaying each other both on track and in the pit lane.

Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren benefitted from problems for Hamilton and race leader Felipe Massa last year to complete a first a well deserved win in front of the mass Finnish crowds which - with no F1 Grand Prix of their own - flock to the track every year. With Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing locking out the championships this year, the likelihood of another team stealing the show in Hungary is likely although, out of their four drivers, the task of keeping up the Hungarian pattern would involve Sebastian Vettel or Mark Webber crossing the line first.


You can see the GPUpdate TV Hungaroring track guide here

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