Fun and frustration at the Hungarian GP

When the Formula 1 circus first came here in ’86, Hungary wasn’t quite the Forbidden City, but it did provide a tantalising glimpse of life in “Eastern” Europe, with armed border guards, austere living conditions and a sense you were stepping back in time. It was often said that Budapest was a great city to go shopping if there was anything you had forgotten to buy in the Sixties!

These days, it’s a bustling modern city, apart from the magnificent historic buildings and its most appealing natural feature, the River Danube that cuts it into Buda and Pest, the two sides joined by some spectacular bridges.

The actual Hungaroring circuit is fun and frustrating all at the same time: driving a single lap of this twisty “Monaco without the barriers” is a challenge enjoyed by all the drivers, but on race day, the difficulties of overtaking, despite the main straight being lengthened a few years back, can make for the occasional traffic jam.

A big accident at the first corner knocked out several cars and, in the end, a maiden victory went to Esteban Ocon for Alpine, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. But the Aston Martin driver was disqualified, so that Carlos Sainz found himself promoted to third in the Ferrari.