Hungarian GP: what time is the race? And can Red Bull break a 35-year-old F1 record?

Red Bull is on the cusp of doing something no F1 constructor has ever managed before by winning a 12th grand prix on the bounce in Hungary this weekend. But that’s not what’s making headlines right now.

Nope, instead the focus is squarely on AlphaTauri, which is arguably (and based on the championship standings, quantifyibly) F1’s slowest team.

You see, the Red Bull junior team brutally fired rookie Nyck de Vries last week, replacing him with a 34-year-old who himself was fired from an F1 team just eight months ago. Welcome back to F1, Daniel Ricciardo. We missed you.

Yep, on the basis of just 11 laps at a Pirelli tyre test at Silverstone, D-Ric is on the grid once more. And that raises many questions: is he really back to his best? Can he beat teammate Yuki Tsunoda? And can he convince Red Bull that he’d be a better hire than Sergio Perez for 2025 (or earlier)?

Much to keep an eye on. And that’s in addition to McLaren’s newly-discovered pace, Alpine’s struggles, and the actually quite exciting battle (but moot in the face of Max Verstappen’s domination) between Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin and now McLaren.

Keep scrolling for all the info you need ahead of the Hungarian GP…

What time is the Hungarian GP? And what time is qualifying?

The Hungarian GP gets underway at 2pm UK time on Sunday 23 July, while qualifying begins at 3pm on Saturday.

All the action is preceded by three practice sessions: FP1 starts at 12.30pm on Friday 21 July, FP2 follows at 4pm, and FP3 begins at 11.30am a few hours before qualifying.

What’s the weather going to be like?

Good question. The Hungarian GP is known for its mixed weather, and it looks like that’s exactly what we’ll get over the weekend: Friday and Saturday are forecast to be hit with rain, although Sunday is currently looking sunny and dry. That could all change though.

Where is the Hungarian GP taking place?

The Hungarian GP is being held at the Hungaroring (pronounced Hun-garo-ring, not Hunger-roaring), a few miles out from the centre of Budapest. It’s been a constant presence on the calendar ever since its introduction in 1986, and Lewis Hamilton has won there a record eight times; of the current grid, only Verstappen, Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel have also stood on the top step of the podium here, each winning once so far.

How many laps is the Hungarian GP?

It’s quite a short circuit, measuring just 4.381km (2.722mi), so the race is 70 laps in total. There are 14 corners squeezed into the layout, making this one of the tightest and most technical tracks on the F1 calendar. Overtaking here used to be quite hard, but last year’s race proved that the latest aero regs had worked their magic by making overtaking much more viable.

Who’s going to win the Hungarian GP?

Well, Max Verstappen has won eight of 10 grands prix so far in 2023 - including the last six in a row - and last year in Hungary he won easily despite starting 10th on the grid and spinning half-way through the race. So you’d be more fool than optimist if you were to put your money on anyone else taking the chequered flag.

Could Sergio Perez rediscover his form and take a confidence-boosting win? Could Lewis Hamilton find the sweet spot in his Mercedes’ setup and grab a ninth victory here? Or could we get another shock winner like Ocon a couple of years back? The answer is definitely (maybe).

How can I watch the Hungarian GP?

On a television, d’uh. Oh, you meant more specifically didn’t you? The Hungarian GP will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK, or alternatively you can stream Sky’s coverage by subscribing to Now TV and accessing the F1 channel via the interwebs.

If the highlights will do, these will be shown free-to-air on Channel 4: qualifying’s round-up will be broadcast at 6.45pm on Saturday while the best bits of the race will be shown from 6.30pm on Sunday.

What’s the Top Gear view on the Hungarian GP?

The Hungarian Grand Prix is always capable of springing a surprise, although that seems unlikely this weekend given how dominant Red Bull’s RB19 has proven to be in 2023. At this stage we’re relying on a mechanical failure just to spice things up…

But behind the unstoppable Verstappen success train, there are loads of interesting battles going on and the track is one of those old school ones that punishes mistakes and rewards commitment. We’ll be watching for sure.