Hungarian GP alarm bells raised as worrying footage emerges days out from race | F1 | Sport

This weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix appears in jeopardy after torrential rain fell on the track on Wednesday. Footage on social media showed officials and team members having to wade through water at the Hungaroring following the downpours.

One of the most telling videos came from Fernando Alsonso’s mechanic at Aston Martin, Mikey Brown.

He uploaded a clip to his Instagram story that not only showed the rain teeming down, but the subsequent flooding in the pitlane.

Brown also wrote ’29°C’ as a caption, suggesting the storms had come amid high humidity in the Pest County, located 20 miles from Budapest. First practice is due to begin 1.30pm GMT on Friday, and further heavy rain tomorrow is likely to leave that session, not to mention the race weekend, in doubt.

Further footage, credited to Red Bull Racing employee Calum Nicholas, showed vehicle drivers forced to remain stationary as water levels on the track rose. The @BRredbullracing reposted the video on X.

“Considering that this is the highest point of the track…it doesn’t exactly bode well,” was the caption on Nicholas’ video. A number of followers replied by joking that a boat race could take place on Sunday instead.

But fans also voiced fears over a repeat of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 2023. Sudden floods in the region caused chaos in the area, with all F1 teams having arrived.

On the Wednesday before the race, Formula One Management announced the cancellation of the race. Amid an enhanced season schedule, the event was not rescheduled.

It left bosses of the Imola circuit having to take a huge financial hit, having had to refund ticket sales and losing out on huge additional revenue. F1 duly donated around £800,000 to the Emilia Romagna Region’s Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection.

Back in 2021, inclement weather on the day of the race in Belgium caused a three hour delay, before the cars completed two laps behind a safety vehicle. Half points were awarded, with spectators left furious at being denied a refund.

The weather this week though, starkly contrasts conditions at the same venue a year ago. That day, it was Max Verstappen who took the chequered flag in blazing sunshine in Hungary.