At the end of July, the Hungaroring will present a new face to the Formula 1 family: phase 1 of the redevelopment works has been completed, during which the paddock and the fan zone behind the main grandstand have undergone a spectacular revamp.
For the last five months, the Hungaroring has been dominated by machinery and their workers rather than racing cars, who have been working at a tremendous pace to ensure that people arriving to the Hungarian GP on 21 July will be stunned to see the new and improved site, the first part of the redevelopment project lasting until 2026.
According to the original timeline, phase 1 was to finish the retaining walls of the event area, but the contractor decided to widen the paddock and also to complete construction of the two tunnels under the finish straight. This pre-performance will facilitate and speed up the continuation of the works after the 2024 Formula 1 race.
To meet the deadlines, work at the circuit often took place 24 hours a day, with 400-500 people working on the site at any one time, and a total of 1500 people working on this great, innovative and prospective project.
Four tower cranes and five mobile cranes worked on the site, installing 390 kilometres of pipeline and using 3,200 tonnes of reinforcing steel, 1,674 cubic metres of precast reinforced concrete and 32,000 cubic metres of concrete. They moved 170,000 cubic metres of land, completed all the retaining walls of the event area behind the grandstand, with its 450 metres length in total, and built the new staircase leading to the spectators’ area.
The buildings on the lower depot area were demolished and the new paddock, now 8,000 square metres in size, was built. In addition, a significant part of the final utility network has been completed and spectacular landscaping work has been carried out to ensure that the Hungaroring team can host the Hungarian Grand Prix in a fitting and appealing environment.
"It has been amazing to see the pace of the works and how much the Hungaroring has changed from week to week” said Zsolt Gyulay, President and CEO of Hungaroring Sport Zrt. “Those arriving at the Hungarian Grand Prix will see that the redevelopment process lasting until 2026 has begun and has brought spectacular changes. I have been saying for years that in the new era the needs have changed, the business world around F1 has changed, and nowadays Formula 1 races are considered a four-day festival, and the circuits have to adapt to meet these needs. I'm pleased that we have taken the first step: the smallest paddock in the World Championship series has been widened, the two tunnels are constructed, the finish straight has been resurfaced and the area behind the grandstand has also seen a spectacular change. There are no abandoned buildings or construction sites in the area, which is very important to allow for a clean television coverage. FOM officials visited us recently and according to their feedback they were pleased with what they saw."
Phase 1 of works at the Hungaroring was completed on 22 May, although only temporarily, as the redevelopment of the circuit will continue after this year’s F1 race.
