Formula One’s pursuit of new markets to create a truly global calendar is well documented.
There are now three races in the US, discussions are ongoing in South America, and there is further demand from Asia. A first race in Africa, the only continent without a Grand Prix, since 1993, is a distinct possibility before the end of the decade.
European races have naturally made way to accommodate this shift. Paul Ricard, Imola, and Zandvoort have all been jettisoned from the schedule, while other circuits are now on rotation.
This trend will continue if rumoured events in Thailand, South Korea and Rwanda come to fruition. Even within Europe there is competition, with Portimão and Istanbul Park joining next seasion.
Which makes Formula One’s decision in July 2023 to award a five-year extension to the Hungaroring and keep the Hungarian Grand Prix on the calendar until 2032 all the more notable.
Organisers attribute the agreement to a collaborative approach to negotiations with Formula One, promising to invest 105 billion forints (US$332 million) to completely redevelop its paddock, pit building, and main grandstand.
Yet investment in facilities isn’t enough. Barcelona-Catalunya spent €50 million (US$56.8 million) on modernisation but lost its Spanish Grand Prix moniker to the new city centre street race in Madrid and was consigned to rotation alongside another historic circuit in Spa-Francorchamps.
At a time when competition for a place on the schedule has never been greater and Formula One’s expectations have never been so demanding, how did Hungaoring secure what was, at the time, Formula One’s third longest contract extension?
The impressive renovations to its paddock, pit building, and main grandstand cost 105 billion forints (US$332 million) and were completed in April 2026 (Image credit: Getty Images)
‘If it rained, we were getting wet’
The size of the Hungaroring’s investment and the strategic importance of a race that represented Formula One’s first visit behind the Iron Curtain when it debuted in 1986 meant there was goodwill on both sides to get a deal done.
Ariane Frank-Meulenbelt, chief executive of A. Ostermann GmbH and Ostermann Formula One KFT (the two companies responsible for organising the Hungarian Grand Prix), tells BlackBook Motorsport that Formula One was more than happy to make some financial concessions in order to facilitate such a sizeable investment in infrastructure.
“I can’t get into the details … but yes, the investment into the new facilities did allow us to renegotiate our contract,” she says. “Obviously if we are putting so much money into the facility, there [was the possibility to secure more favourable terms].”
Local media has reported that the Hungarian state saved roughly 107 billion forints (US$339 million) across the five-year extension as a result.
The redevelopment was an absolute necessity, though. As Frank-Meulenbelt notes, the “retro” facility was falling apart at the seams.
“There were cracks not only just on the surface but if it rained, we were getting wet,” she remembers. “That’s not something that is acceptable at the pinnacle of motorsport.”
Ensuring the all-new Paddock Club met Formula One’s stringent hospitality requirements was a key focus but the Hungaroring also wanted to ensure that the media were not forgotten.
“The media [spreads] our image worldwide, and we don’t want to be sticking them in some hotel room somewhere at the back of a track.” Frank-Meulenbelt explains. “[We want to make] sure that we’re looking after all our guests equally well.”
Tourism product over sporting event?
How the rest of the world perceives the race is hugely important. The Hungarian Grand Prix was first held under communist rule and Formula One represented its first foray onto the international stage. Four decades on and it remains a huge driver of economic activity.
The event contributes more than 26 billion forints (US$82 million) to the country’s GDP. In fact, the Hungarian State Secretary for Sport, Adam Schmidt, revealed “every forint invested by the government into the Hungaroring has returned more than one-and-a-half times its value to the Hungarian economy”, as reported by Motorsport.com.
In many ways, the Hungarian Grand Prix is more tourism product than sporting event.
“We’ve got fans visiting us from all over the world. We’ve got 70 per cent of fans from abroad and they’re spending on average three to four nights in Budapest for this weekend,” says Frank-Meulenbelt.
“Obviously, the economic impact of that is massive in terms of GDP, but also with regard to the marketing value of showing of our beautiful city worldwide. [That is] a number that’s quite hard to put a figure on.”
Following in the footsteps of other major sporting venues seeking to maximise returns on such significant investments, the target is now to transform the Hungaroring into a true destination throughout the calendar year.
“This is now a big entertainment facility,” explains Frank-Meulenbelt. “Next to the [Hung]expo in Budapest, it’s the biggest entertainment facility in Budapest and it is our challenge to make sure that it is used to the best of its abilities.
“We’ve had quite a lot of filming crews, for example, filming movies on this track … They can build film sets, even in winter where maybe racing is a little bit more difficult, so there is no end to the creativity.”
‘It can easily live up to what Liberty have built in Las Vegas’
Of course, there are no guarantees that the Hungaroring will have a place on the calendar beyond 2032. A new government in Hungary may not have the same commitment to sport as the previous Orban administration.
But Frank-Meulenbelt hopes continued commitments to investment and collaboration will ensure Formula One remains favourable to Hungary, admitting that early negotiations were crucial to avoid being offered a rotational deal.
“We timed our negotiations at the right time, and it was something that we felt very strongly about for us and for Budapest and for Hungary. It was essential that we stayed on the calendar every year and didn’t go into a rotational [deal] like Barcelona and Spa,” she explains.
But while expanding into new markets remains very much on the agenda for Formula One – and rotational deals will be required to achieve this – it will not do so at the expense of existing partners who invest in the sport. After all, the better hosts reflect well on Formula One.
“Once you put a building on the map like we have here, it can easily live up to what Liberty [Media] have built in Las Vegas or the building in Miami,” continues Frank-Meulenbelt.
“That’s not to say we’re all competing, but that kind of quality that we can deliver to our guests is something that is always going to be of interest to brands. So, we have seen an uptake of brands, especially in our Paddock Club ticket sales, because this is now one of the top facilities on the F1 [calendar].”
The Hungaroring may have been in the right place at the right time to secure its long-term future in Formula One, but now its attention will turn to proving it is a premium destination on a competitive global calendar.
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