Hungaroring

The Hungaroring is a tight, twisting lap often described as a street circuit without the walls. Corners come one after another with barely a proper straight to break them up, which makes overtaking notoriously difficult and puts a high price on track position and a well-balanced car. Getting the rhythm right through the constant direction changes is the whole challenge, and the surface is often dusty and low on grip early in a weekend.

Set in the dusty hills outside Budapest, it is a physically demanding race, usually run in high summer heat with the driver working almost continuously. A clean qualifying lap here is worth a great deal, because clear track and clean air are so hard to find once the racing begins.