Hungaroring Formula 1 track to see major revamp amid much-needed renovations

The Hungarian Grand prix organisers have revealed that much-needed renovations will carried out in the next years and should be completed by 2026.

The Hungarian Government has confirmed it will support the planned development of the Hungaroring race track, the venue that hosts the Hunagarian Grand Prix in Mogyorod near Budapest. Based on the initial plans, the 2026 Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place in the completely renewed facility, as confirmed by Ádám Schmidt, State Secretary for Sport, who took part in a press conference held at the Mogyorod race track a few days ago to announce that the venue is set to renovate facilities.

The State Secretary pointed out that under the latest government decision, the ownership of the Hungaroring has been moved to the National Sports Agency, that is a back office of the State Secretariat.

“The Government has also decided to support the long-delayed renovation of the Hungaroring, which has been under negotiation for a long time” explained Ádám Schmidt, who added that Hungary has a current deal to host Formula One events at the race track for the next four years, while a contract extension starting from the 2027 season should be signed once the planned improvements have been successfully completed, as part of the agreement with Formula 1.

“The background work has already begun, the technical content of the conditional public procurement procedure is being drawn up and we are confident that this procurement can be launched within 40-45 days,” said the State Secretary . The construction work will most likely start in the second part of the next year, after the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, which means that the 2025 F1 event will take place in “transitional phase”, while the renovated facility should be fully functional for the following season.

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Zsolt Gyulay, Chairman and chief executive officer of Hungaroring Sport Zrt., admitted that the current state of the facilities and infrastructure no longer meets the standards imposed by the International Automobile Federation (FIA): “I feel that together with the improvements we are making, we will also reach a faster and more modern form of operation that is more compatible with the accelerated world of Formula 1,” he pointed out.

Zsolt Gyulay explained that he became in charge of the management of the Hungaroring more than a decade ago in difficult circumstances, but also pointed out that the venue was able to generate a profit in 11 of the last 12 races and is confident the 2023 Formula 1 event will allow them to make a profit of over one billion forints, which is the equivalent of EUR 2.6 million.

“The utility development, which is the basis for all this, has already started, and the new pipeline system will be able to meet the demand at Hungaroring for about 40-50 years,” added Zsolt Gyulay.

The chief executive officer also confirmed that during the discussions for the new F1 deal in the last year, the Hungarian state was able to save 107 billion forints until 2027, given the fact that they kept “bargaining” for the ever-increasing amount of royalties.

“If we can successfully agree on the next extension, the agreement will include a five-year option beyond 2032, which will of course have to be renegotiated. At the same time, we will have the longest valid contract in Europe, but we will not be in a bad position globally either,” said Zsolt Gyulay, who concluded by confirming that the planned development will include the reconstruction of the main building in the paddock, the so-called depot behind it, in addition to the covered grandstand and the main entrance gate at the finish line.

As a result of the renovations that be made to the Hungaroring facilities, organisers have confirmed that they are also evaluating the feasibility of hosting motorcycle races after 2026.