Track Information

Budapest staged its first GP in 1936, on a circuit laid out in a park near the center of the city. Nuvolari took the win that day in his Alfa in front of a huge crowd. The track was revised in the 1960's and hosted two European Touring Car races, but F1 would not visit Budapest again until Bernie Ecclestone began investigating Eastern European sites in the early 1980's. Following a Hungarian government study, the decision was taken to build a new track in Three Springs Valley, some ten miles outside Budapest. The track took just seven months to complete and the first F1 GP took place in 1986, a race won by Piquet for Williams, in front of a huge crowd of nearly 200,000 people. Despite its ideal setting and good spectator facilities, the track has been widely criticised for the lack of overtaking opportunities, on what has proved to be a tight and somewhat processional circuit. This fact was illustrated by the 1990 race, which saw Thierry Boutsen hold off a queue of cars to take the win in front of Senna.