Mercedes goes into the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring looking to turn pace into points after a run of self-inflicted mistakes. Team Principal Toto Wolff says the car has had the performance at every race so far, but the results have not followed. The team’s third driver will also take part in first practice in the W17, on a weekend that marks 40 years of Formula 1 in Hungary.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas arrives in Budapest for the last race before the summer break with a clear objective, according to the team’s own preview: a clean, reliable weekend that finally converts pace into points.
Performance without the points
Team Principal Toto Wolff says the car has been quick enough at every round so far this season, but that the team has not made enough of it. Points have been lost through problems of its own making, he says, and the team is working hard to understand and fix them so that both drivers have the tools they need for a complete race weekend.
“So far we have shown at every race that we have the performance we need. However, we have not yet been able to convert that potential into results to a sufficient extent. We have lost points through self-inflicted problems and we are aware that we have to improve,” Wolff says in the team’s preview.
The comments follow a stretch of races at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, two circuits Wolff points to as offering only limited opportunities for energy recovery.
Why Budapest changes the energy equation
The Hungaroring, by contrast, has a lot of recovery potential, according to the team, and that shifts both the demands on the car and the way the weekend is approached. Mercedes’ third driver compares the layout to Monaco in that respect, and describes a relatively traditional approach to both the power unit and the aerodynamic setup: maximum downforce, and maximum engine power used throughout the lap.
Conditions in Hungary are frequently very hot, which the team calls an additional challenge. The circuit is demanding, with corners arriving in quick succession and very little chance to breathe during a lap.
A third car in first practice
Mercedes says its third driver will take part in first practice this weekend, returning to the cockpit of the W17 to build up more mileage in the car. Teams are required to hand a car to a rookie driver in a number of practice sessions across the season, and Friday running at a high-downforce, low-speed circuit such as the Hungaroring is a comparatively contained way to do it.
Forty years of Formula 1 in Hungary
This year’s race marks the 40th anniversary of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Hungary joined the calendar in 1986 and has hosted a race in every season since — a rare run of continuity in a championship that has cycled through venues repeatedly over the same period.
The track has 14 corners, six left-handers and eight right-handers, many of them following closely on from one another. That puts a premium on a well-balanced car that handles changes of direction cleanly. Traction matters too, given the number of slower corners, and the rear tyres take a heavy beating as a result. Despite the relatively short main straight, the distance from pole position to the braking zone for turn one is 440 metres (1,444 ft).
What it means
With the field closely matched, Mercedes expects small details to decide the outcome — and the team frames this as its last chance to bank points before the break. The venue has history on its side for the team: George Russell took his first Formula 1 pole position in Budapest in 2022, and Mercedes-Benz power scored its 600th Formula 1 podium at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. Two world championships have also been settled in Hungary, Nigel Mansell’s in 1992 and Michael Schumacher’s in 2001.
Facts: Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring
- Circuit: Hungaroring, 14 corners — six left, eight right
- Pole position to the turn-one braking zone: 440 m (1,444 ft)
- First Hungarian Grand Prix: 1986; 40th anniversary in 2026
- Characteristics: maximum downforce, high energy-recovery potential, heavy rear-tyre load, often very hot
- Mercedes milestones: George Russell’s first F1 pole (2022); 600th F1 podium for Mercedes-Benz power (2024)
- World titles decided here: Nigel Mansell (1992), Michael Schumacher (2001)
The weekend begins with first practice, where Mercedes’ third driver takes over one of the W17s.
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com