The Hungaroring is set to begin a development drive ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, with the aim to update the facilities at the Hungarian Grand Prix venue.
The track, which holds a contract to host Formula 1 until at least the 2027 season, has already undergone some changes in recent years, with resurfacing work and grandstand maintenance being on top of this list.
However, they are set to now upgrade the entrance, headquarters and customer area of the track, as well as improving the water and electrical networks that will benefit the already confirmed sell-out crowd in 2023.
“I took over the management of Hungaroring in 2010, and we have been waiting for this moment practically since then,” Zsolt Gyulay, the CEO of Hungaroring Sport Zrt. is quoted as saying by F1i.com.
“Of course, we did not rest on our laurels in the past period either: our track has undergone a number of renovations, we have worked continuously to meet the new safety requirements.
“We have built a debris fence, we have maintained the grandstands and in 2016 we resurfaced the entire track line, or more precisely, we replaced the top, so-called wearing course.”
Gyulay says the infrastructure of new venues have been better than what the Hungaroring has been able to offer so far, so this development programme is aimed at bringing this infrastructure up to scratch so to allow Formula 1 to remain at the venue for many more years to come.
“Looking at the happenings in Formula 1 and the new tracks that are coming in, this [previous work] could not be enough, and it really is the last moment to start work,” said Gyulay.
“We can see that among the many ‘one-size-fits-all’ tracks there is an increasing value for traditional venues like the Hungarian one, and the proximity of Budapest will always be an incredible attraction for the Hungaroring.
“Yet, we should not overlook that the infrastructure of the new circuits grants a much higher level of service than ours.
“Thanks to the strategic development programme, we will be able to compete with them in reasonable time, which will allow us to keep the Formula 1 series here and thus draw attention to our country and our beautiful capital year after year.”
Spanish Venue Looking at Homologation of Different Layout of Final Sector
The Hungaroring is not the only venue looking to make upgrades or changes before it next hosts Formula 1, with the Spanish Grand Prix venue also aiming to make alterations, this time to its track layout.
Officals at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya are looking into homologating a new layout that would eliminate the chicane just before the final corner, a chicane that has been in place since 2007. It was originally brought in to aid overtaking at the venue, but it has proven to be unpopular and ill-placed, with passes still as difficult as they were before.
Currently, only the chicane version of the track holds the Grade 1, and although that layout will remain, bringing the other version up to the same level will give options to series promoters to which layout to use.
“The chicane area will not be modified,” a spokesman for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya said to Motorsport.com. “What will be done is to homologate the layout without the chicane for motor racing competitions.
“Then each promoter can decide which layout configuration they prefer.”
