F1 Fanatic

I went to the Hungaroring in 2012, but I’m not planning to go there this year. Just some tips if you are going:

- When you have bought a ticket for a grand stand: do not sit there the entire weekend! You can walk around half of the track (turns 6-13), most of which are high-speed corners. It’s just indescribable to see modern F1-cars going through those corners! The only time it’s a bit busy in the general admission area is when there is an F1 practice, but not extremely busy.

- The pit-walk on Thursday is a must-see. Try to come earlier (about half an hour before the pit-walk starts), as most of the crowd comes a bit later, and there will be traffic jams in the pitlane then. In 2012, there was an opportunity to collect autographs at the main straight. After the pit-walk, you are obliged to walk from the pitlane to the first corner, which is also fantastic!

- For photographers: until 12 o’clock the best place for pictures is on the hill between turns 9 and 10. After midday, I would suggest photographing at the begin of the main straight. Most of the straight is surrounded by grand stands, but there are to patches where you can stand with any ticket. If you have a large camera lens (more than 300mm), you can also take great photos at turn 10. For this, you might need small steps. I added some pictures below just to give you an idea.

- If you have bought a general admission ticket: it’s not that expensive, but very good value for your money. On race day, the best place to sit by far is between the stands at the main straight. Lots of people know this, so it is very very crowded there. On race day, if you want a place to sit, come early (with that I mean between 8 and 9 o’clock. It’s a long wait, but it’s well worth it as you can see the F1 grid, a tv screen (maybe partly obscured, so watch out!) and a large part of the track (a bit of turns 4-5, turns 9-10 and the following straight, turns 12-13, the main straight and a part of the pit-lane).

- Last year we travelled by car on all four days and that was a success. If you want to park, do not park at a place where you have to pay (they’re a fraud: parking near the circuit is free). If you do not have tickets for a place at the main straight, DO NOT park your car at the first parking lots, but be patient and drive through to the next few parking lots: it’s a lot closer to the circuit, it’s not as busy and the traffic jams following the race are far better. We even left the main road and went off-road and drove to the next town. As a result, we were back in Budapest just 90 minutes after the race!

But most importantly: keep an eye on the weather and have fun!

Had a great time at the 2012 race, it was our first ever F1 visit.

A few tips for next year.

1) Pointy Ended Umbrellas – Even though we bought an official F1 umbrella in the circuit on the Friday, on Saturday, we were told we couldn’t take it in, I did get it in though up my trouser leg and in to my arm pit :)

2) Hire a scooter – it made life so much easier, we stayed in Budapest in a hotel, and just getting on the scooter and going to the track was so easy, apparently a Full UK car licence is enough to have pillion passengers, the scooter was a 200cc capable of 75mph and was £65 for 4 days hire, with a £150 deposit.

3) Buy General Admission – there are so many viewpoints around the track, its kinda pointless to buy a stand ticket, on Practice and Qualifying, we stayed around the pit straight, but on race day, we moved to the back of the circuit, it was so much better

4) Buy the official F1 2013 iPhone App – when available, it was great to glance at to see timings etc, even from a field I knew that if Hamilton / Raikkonen / Grojean had pitted again any time after lap 54, then Vettel would have caught them with lap times he was putting in.

5) Scale of Circuit – I hadn’t grasped how big the area of the circuit covered, prior to my visit, anyway, here’s a panoramic photo so others get some idea of how large the site is.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/411479_4184415684570_1471971917_o.jpg

Hope that helps
Simon

Thanks! The Vettel one is I think the most photogenic spot to take photos at the Hungaroring. If only we could take pictures directly next to the track like in the old days…

Great tips guys. I’m planning to go there this year with my car from Estonia (2000km away). Planning a ~10 day Czech + Hungary trip with the F1 race as a highlight of it.

Do you have any idea if the General Admission will be sold out or probably not? Can buy tickets from the gates?

As I’ll be going with my car more parking advice would be appreciated. Also if someone has good advice on hotels+hostels+camping sites – doesn’t need to be close, no problem driving 30-50km.

In Barcelona you could bring almost anything to the track as long as it wasn’t glass bottles or metal cans. Seems that Hungaroring is more strickt about it? So you can’t get in with your own food+drinks and chairs?

Hello everyone,

I am looking to go to Budapest this year and was after some more info about driving a car to the track.
Can anyone tell me what the traffic is like?
How early should you leave your hotel to get to the track on the Saturday and Sunday

Also does anyone know what the deal is with a grandstand ticket? I was very pissed off to find out that my grandstand ticket for Silverstone last year only guaranteed me my seat for the Race on Sunday and anyone else could sit in MY seat any other time through the weekend. Is this the case at Hungaroring?

Thanks……..Ollie

Could anyone recommend any good hostels to stay in? It would be a massive help!

@funkmaster
If you are not an F1 fanatic yet, I would advise you to learn as mutch as possible about the sport before going to the Hungarian GP. A lot of the fans say that usually the Hungarian GP is boring, but it is only boring, if the on track overtakes are your main concern. Budapest was always about the qualy and the strategy. It is not without a reason that pundits and drivers say it is “Monaco without the walls”.
If you want to know what to expect:
-all of the drivers who have won here were champions, or became champions, except four: Barichello, Webber, Kovalainen, Boutsen
-the track has produced many unexpected winners over 27 years, most notably Damon Hill almost won here in the Arrows, but his car gave up on the final lap.
-maiden wins: Kovalainen, Button, Alonso, Hill
- this is one of the few GPs that Prost have never won
If it rains, dont try to predict the results.
You should also watch some archive footage if you can (notable ones: 1997, 2006, 2008, 2011).

Apart from F1, you should try every food you can, I know we are a bit like the Indians with the sipce (its never too mutch), but you should try them, because you cant eat things like these anywhere else. Note that goulash is not the only food that we eat :D Try some of these