Several F1 drivers have expressed their concerns about the state of the asphalt at the Hungaroring. The topic was extensively discussed during Friday’s drivers’ briefing, after several drivers already complained about the limited grip and varying quality of the renewed track surface during free practice. Despite emergency repairs overnight, the problems remained visible on Saturday, leading to increasing dissatisfaction towards the race.
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Lando Norris, who took pole position for the Hungarian GP, described the new asphalt as unpredictable. “With the new asphalt, which offers grip in some places and not in others, it sometimes feels like a lottery in certain corners,” the reigning world champion responded to the media. “The track is quite damaged in some places and there are many different types of asphalt. It was difficult to get a consistent feeling about what the best line was or how the car would react in these types of corners.”
Carlos Sainz was even more critical, stating that certain parts of the circuit do not meet the standards Formula 1 is accustomed to. “The circuit organization admitted they were somewhat surprised when they resurfaced it,” the Spaniard explained. He advised reverting to the asphalt from a few years ago. “In 2016, the entire circuit was resurfaced, and at that time, the surface was one of the best I have ever seen – comparable to Silverstone, comparable to Jeddah. There was an enormous amount of grip,” Sainz said. “The asphalt currently in the first corners is of a lower quality.”
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‘Made a mess of it’
Other drivers also joined the criticism. Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto described the asphalt as ‘very bad’, while Valtteri Bottas saw little improvement after Friday night’s work. “They did some milling last night, but it didn’t achieve much,” the Finn said dryly. “You can easily lock up. Also in turn thirteen, the surface is very uneven. I think the circuit has understood the feedback by now; it hasn’t been resurfaced in ten years.”
Haas driver Oliver Bearman also expressed concerns about the conditions. “They really asphalted it very badly,” he also stated. “We all agree that they made a mess of it. There’s a gigantic bump in the first corner, and also in turn thirteen. That could still be interesting during the race. It’s super strange. In addition, the circuit is also crumbling at certain points, which severely limits the amount of grip. It’s strange.”
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