2021 F1 Hungarian GP session timings and how to watch

F1 heads to its familiar final round before the summer break with the Hungaroring set to welcome an intriguing rendezvous between world title protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen after their opening lap clash at the British GP.

Hamilton has slashed Verstappen’s F1 world championship lead down to eight points following his victory at Silverstone, fighting back from a 10-second time penalty for clashing with the Red Bull driver. 

Verstappen, who suffered a 51G impact with the tyre barriers in the collision with Hamilton, will face the media and fans for the first time since the crash as both Mercedes and Red Bull prepare for the latest part of the fierce battle for the F1 world titles in 2021. 

Red Bull is also likely to reveal the full extent of the cost of the clash between Hamilton and Verstappen, which team principal Christian Horner has said cost “approximately $1.8 million” which is set to have “massive ramifications in the budget cap era”.

Esteban Ocon, Renault F1 Team R.S.20, battles with Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

2021 Formula 1 Hungarian GP session timings

F1 will revert back to its regular weekend schedule this weekend, with two practice sessions on Friday each lasting 60 minutes (rather than the previous 90-minute sessions), before an additional practice session also running for one hour on Saturday.

At the British GP, F1 trialled its first-ever sprint qualifying race and will experiment with the different race weekend format again at the Italian GP in September. 

The Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout-style qualifying format is also being retained on Saturday afternoon to decide the grid for the Hungarian GP on Sunday.

F1 has also ditched starting races at 10 minutes past the hour mark for the 2021 season, with all races starting at the top of the hour.

Friday 30th July 2021

Free Practice 1: 10:30am-11:30am BST (11:30am-12:30pm local)
Free Practice 2: 2:00pm-3:00pm BST (3:00pm-4:00pm local)

Saturday 31st July 2021

Free Practice 3: 11:00am-12:00pm BST (12:00pm-1:00pm local)
Qualifying: 2:00pm-3:00pm BST (3:00pm-4:00pm local)

Sunday 1st August 2021

Race: 2:00pm BST (3:00pm local)

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16, pitstop

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

How can I watch the Hungarian GP?

Channel: Sky Sports F1 HD
Channel numbers - Sky: 406
Channel numbers – Virgin Media: 506 (Sky Sports F1 HD)
Sky Sports has live and exclusive broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom, with the build-up to the F1 race starting from 12:30pm ahead of lights out at 2:00pm.

When can I watch the Hungarian GP highlights?

· Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: Saturday qualifying 5:30pm, Sunday race 6:30pm
Channel 4 has the rights to show Hungarian GP highlights of qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

Will the Hungarian GP be on the radio?

Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra stations or via the BBC Sport website.

Coverage of the Hungarian GP will start at 1:45pm BST on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, available on both DAB radio and the BBC Sounds app.

Weather forecast for the Hungarian GP

Budapest is set for hot and sunny weather conditions throughout the race weekend, with hot spells to start on Friday before cloudy weather and a chance of thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday. Across the weekend highs of 35 degrees Celsius are predicted – around eight degrees hotter than the warmest conditions at the British GP.

Most F1 Hungarian GP wins

Lewis Hamilton: 8 wins (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Michael Schumacher: 4 wins (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004)
Ayrton Senna: 3 wins (1988, 1991, 1992)