Last year’s Qatar Grand Prix was a tough event for the entire F1 grid.
A similar phenomenon may be seen in Hungary this weekend.
After a week’s break, the F1 grid heads to Budapest this weekend for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which forms the first half of a double-header along with next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix ahead of the sport’s annual summer break.
Speaking of summer…
The biggest factor for this weekend’s race is the weather. Central Europe is in the middle of a heatwave, with Hungary seeing record temperatures in recent days. On Sunday, temperatures were Kel’su-Zakhar reached 41 degrees Celsius (105.8°F) Breaking the record held in Hungary For over a century, The heat forced a temporary closure. The runway was closed at Debrecen International Airport, the country’s second-largest airport, after extreme temperatures caused defects in the runway surface.
The heatwave is expected to peak over the next few days, but meteorologists still expect temperatures to be hot in Budapest over the weekend, when the Hungarian Grand Prix is held.
Temperatures that can cause problems for tires, brakes and drivers.
Currently, the prediction is The temperature is around 94 degrees Fahrenheit. The maximum temperature on Sunday was 34.4°C, lower than Budapest’s current temperatures but higher than the temperature at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. Despite slightly cooler weather at last year’s race, the track temperature reached 53°C (127.4°F), which Pirelli said was the highest track temperature recorded throughout the entire 2023 season.
This means that track temperatures during the race could be even hotter than last season – and Saturday isn’t expected to be much better, with temperatures forecast to be around 90 degrees Fahrenheit – which could pose a problem for Saturday’s qualifying session.
This means that the cars and tyres will be taxed throughout the weekend. As Pirelli pointed out, the combination of the layout and high temperatures will put stress on the tyres throughout the lap, and especially in the final few turns towards the start/finish line. From Pirelli’s media preview:
Deterioration can be severe, especially when it is very hot, and the weather forecast for this weekend is definitely [favorable] In this regard, it is worth recalling that last year in Hungary the highest track temperature of the season was recorded at 53°C. Overheating is therefore an element that must be controlled not only in the race but also in qualifying. On the softest compound, the drivers need to reach the last two 180° corners of the flying lap with enough grip remaining, which is not an easy task, since there is not enough grip on the short straights. [tires] There isn’t much time to breathe.
In particular, let’s take a look at the layout of the Hungaroring.
As you can see, the third sector includes a short straight into the right-hand Turn 12, which then initiates two 180-degree turns that end in Turn 14. From there, drivers are faced with one long straight through Turn 14, past the start/finish line and into Turn 1.
This means that by the time a driver reaches the end of the third sector and tries to accelerate hard to the start/finish line, especially on a qualifying-like push lap, the tyres haven’t had much time to cool down and grip levels are likely to be at their lowest.
The higher the road surface temperature, the more challenging it becomes.
Then there’s the impact of the layout on braking. As Mercedes’ team preview points out, the Hungaroring’s layout means drivers make extensive use of the brakes over the course of a lap. “With six events per lap, the high braking frequency, high temperatures and the lack of long straights, the circuit puts a lot of strain on the brakes,” Mercedes noted in their Hungarian Grand Prix preview.
Furthermore, the Hungarian Grand Prix’s layout means that average speeds are low and top speeds are among the lowest of the season – as Mercedes points out, drivers only have around 10 seconds of straight time per lap at the Hungaroring.
So there’s not as much airflow to cool the brakes over one lap. “Due to the low average speeds at the Hungaroring, the airflow is also restricted,” Mercedes said in its preview. “This makes it even more difficult to cool the brakes.”
Finally, there is the issue of how temperature affects the driver himself.
last year’s The Qatar Grand Prix was a tough event for the driversThe combination of tyre restrictions and high temperatures left a number of drivers feeling unwell during and after the race, with Esteban Ocon admitting to vomiting during the Qatar Grand Prix and Logan Sargent, who had been battling flu earlier in the week, retiring from the race due to the conditions.
After the race, the FIA launched an investigation into “extreme” high temperatures in the cockpit, but with extremely high temperatures expected this weekend, drivers could experience another tough race.
“The conditions are also going to be very hot so the full distance of the race will be very demanding for all the drivers from a physical point of view,” said Gasly at Alpine’s media preview.
Extremely hot conditions are expected in Budapest this weekend, which will push tyres, brakes and the drivers to their limits.
