Turn 1 at the Hungaroring has been partially resurfaced overnight in response to driver complaints after the first day of practice for the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix.
It’s understood that some areas of the track have been resurfaced within the past two years but the hot, dry summer caused some sub-surface settlement, exacerbating some of the bumps. Additionally, the track surface had begun to open up, most noticeably at Turns 1, 12 and 13.
Drivers were able to modify their line around the final corner to avoid the problem area there, but at Turn 1 – a crucial overtaking point – the track was breaking up on the racing line.
“It was quite a strange day out there I think for everybody,” said Mercedes’ George Russell after practice.
“Budapest is an amazing track to drive but they've resurfaced half of the track, super bumpy, a lot of it's breaking up around the last couple of corners, which is making it quite strange to drive on.”
According to Pirelli, the grip levels on the track were lower than expected when measured on Wednesday – lower indeed than last year. It’s understood that the issues with the track surface were first observed during the International GT Open meeting two weekends ago.
Those drivers who sat out FP1 so their teams could accommodate one of the mandatory ‘rookie’ sessions found it particularly challenging to get up to speed in FP2. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto crashed at Turn 12, one of the resurfaced areas that was unexpectedly slippery.
“The new parts of the track are not very grippy and they're kind of not breaking apart but they're very worn,” said Oscar Piastri, whose McLaren was occupied by Leonardo Fornaroli in FP1.
“So, it's just a very challenging circuit at the moment and, yeah, obviously missing a practice session has made it pretty tough.”
The importance of Turn 1 as an overtaking area naturally made it a focus of attention so the FIA directed repairs be made before FP3 and qualifying on Saturday. The affected areas have been patched.
“It was inspected and remedial works were undertaken overnight,” said the FIA in a statement.
“Two areas were addressed, one online and one to the right of the line where an overtaking car would travel.”
