The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 21 June 1936 over a 5-kilometre (3.1-mile) track laid out in Népliget, a park in Budapest. The Mercedes-Benz, Auto Union, and the Alfa Romeo-equipped Ferrari teams all sent three cars and the event drew a very large crowd. However, politics and the ensuing war meant the end of Grand Prix motor racing in the country for fifty years.
A major coup by Bernie Ecclestone, the 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix was the first Formula One race to take place behind the Iron Curtain. Held at the twisty Hungaroring in Mogyoród near Budapest, the race has been a mainstay of the racing calendar ever since. The first Grand Prix saw 200,000 people[1] spectating, although tickets were expensive at the time. Today, the support is still very enthusiastic, particularly from Finns, with locals making up ten percent while the majority are visitors from Germany.[2] The trophies are “handmade by Herendi Porcelanmanufaktura Zrt with an approximate production time of six months at a cost of €40,000” each.[3]
Due to the nature of the track, narrow, twisty and often dusty because of under-use, the Hungarian Grand Prix is associated with processional races, with sometimes many cars following one another, unable to pass. Thierry Boutsen demonstrated this in 1990, keeping his slower Williams car in front of championship leader Ayrton Senna, unable to find a way by. Pit strategy is often crucial; in 1998, Michael Schumacher‘s Ferrari team changed his strategy mid-race before Schumacher built up a winning margin after all the stops had been made. Passing is a rarity here, although the 1989 race saw a bullish performance from Nigel Mansell in the Ferrari, who started from 12th on the grid and passed car after car, finally taking the lead when Ayrton Senna was baulked by a slower runner. The circuit was modified slightly in 2003 in an attempt to allow more passing.
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