Over almost 40 consecutive editions of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the tight and twisty Hungaroring circuit has delivered more than its fair share of maiden race winners.
Damon Hill: 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix
Aged 32 and only competing in his second season of Formula 1, Damon Hill found himself driving for the dominant Williams team in 1993. His teammate was Alain Prost, who had been tempted back from sabbatical and had spent the first half of the season trading wins with his old nemesis from McLaren, Ayrton Senna.
Prost had already racked up seven wins by the time Formula 1 arrived at the Hungaroring in 1993. Hill was left to rue his bad luck. Just one week earlier, the English driver had seen an almost certain victory escape from his grasp at Hockenheim after suffering a puncture.
Thanks to the kindness of Williams’ press officer at the time, Ann Bradshaw, I had the privilege of interviewing Damon on the Thursday before the race. We spoke about his luck or lack thereof, and how he could move on from the frustration of his recent retirements. We agreed it was high time for his maiden victory…
And so it came to be a few days later. This time it was Prost who had his share of bad luck by stalling his engine on the parade lap and having to start from the back of the field. Hill controlled the race virtually from start to finish as his closest challengers succumbed to a combination of reliability issues, spins and skirmishes. It was only Hill’s thirteenth race start, but definitely his luckiest to date.
Fernando Alonso: 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
Exactly 10 years later, another newcomer stood on the top step of the podium for the first time in Hungary, but his success was a bigger surprise. Damon Hill had driven the best car on the grid, but 22-year-old Fernando Alonso was driving a Renault. A good midfield car, not more.
It was an eventful race weekend from the outset. Jordan’s Ralph Firman had a big crash on Friday and was declared unfit to race. His replacement for the rest of the weekend was local driver Zsolt Baumgartner, who became the first Hungarian to race in Formula 1. And at his home race, no less. All eyes were on Baumgartner, but Alonso stole the show on Saturday with an easy pole position ahead of the normally much faster Willams, McLaren and Ferrari machines.
Anyone who thought the Spanish driver was only good for one quick lap at the Hungaroring was mistaken. Alonso held the lead into the first corner on Sunday and never looked back, winning the 70 lap race in dominant style. He even managed to put a lap on Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari! Not only did Alonso become Formula 1’s youngest race winner at the time, but his Renault team returned to the top step of the podium for the first time in 20 years. (Renault’s last victory had been with Alain Prost at the 1983 Austrian Grand Prix.)
Jenson Button: 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
We only had to wait another three years for our next maiden winner at the Hungaroring. And it was a long time coming for Britain’s Jenson Button, who had debuted on the grid in 2000.
The 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix was Button’s 113th Formula 1 start, and though he qualified his Honda in fourth place on the grid, he was hardly one of the favorites for victory.
Button was further hampered by a 10-place grid penalty, but on this day, rain was the great leveler. The first ever wet race at the Hungaroring resulted in mixed fortunes for the big guns;
Räikkönen crashed into the back of the Toro Rosso of Liuzzi and Alonso spun on the wet tarmac. Button kept his head down and managed to bring it home. Button’s first race victory was also the last for Honda as a factory team.
Heikki Kovalainen: 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring produced another first-time winner just two years later. Driving alongside the young superstar Lewis Hamilton, Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen was the clear number two at McLaren. But on occasion, the Finn showed himself to be just as quick as his talented teammate. McLaren locked out the front row for the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with Lewis in pole position and Heikki in second.
At the start, the Ferrari of Felipe Massa made an excellent start from third on the grid and leapfrogged both McLarens. An intense battle ensued between Massa and Hamilton, though the Brazilian appeared in full control. Massa’s path to victory seemed assured when Hamilton suffered a front left puncture.
Three laps from the flag, however, the Ferrari suffered a major engine blow-up on the start-finish straight. Kovalainen came through to take the victory. “The first of many,” exclaimed an overjoyed McLaren team principal Ron Dennis over the radio. But it remained Kovalainen’s only F1 win.
Esteban Ocon: 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix
We had to wait much longer for the next ‘first win’ at the Hungaroring. The covid pandemic was beginning to recede as Formula 1 arrived for the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. A limited number of fans were allowed to witness the race at the track, though the Paddock was still off limits to VIPs and the media.
Once again, rain played a significant part in the outcome of the race. Valtteri Bottas took out a significant number of the frontrunners after locking up on the wet track going into the first corner, which brought out the red flag. When the race got underway again, the track was rapidly drying. The vast majority of drivers elected to pit for dry weather tyres at the end of the formation lap, leaving just one driver – Lewis Hamilton, on intermediate tyres – to take to the grid for the restart. It was a miscalculation by the Mercedes team, as Hamilton was forced to pit for dry tyres at the end of the first lap.
Images courtesy Alpine F1 Team
Esteban Ocon took the lead for Alpine and never looked back. The French driver resisted sustained pressure from the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel, and also got some assistance from his teammate, Fernando Alonso, who held up Lewis Hamilton. Ocon fought hard for the entire 70-lap race before taking a well-deserved maiden victory.
Now, it’s time for the next edition of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri is the leading contender to take his first victory at the Hungaroring in 2024, but stranger things have happened. Maybe Hülkenberg, Tsunoda or Stroll are also ready to stand on the top step of the podium!
