Racing
© Jonathan Borba
The Hungaroring has officially named all 14 corners of its circuit for the first time, with Lewis Hamilton’s record at the track earning him Turn 2 as part of the Hungarian Grand Prix’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
Hamilton’s place on the layout reflects a record no other driver matches at Budapest. The Ferrari driver is the Hungaroring’s most successful competitor, with eight victories and nine pole positions, making Turn 2 the most direct link between the circuit’s new naming system and modern Formula 1 history.
The anniversary project does more than attach famous surnames to braking zones and apexes. It gives the whole lap a permanent identity, mixing grand prix history with landmarks from the area around Mogyoród. The result is a corner list that runs from Turn 1 Piquet and Turn 2 Hamilton through Spring, Mansell, Mogyoród, Driving Center, Buda, Pest and Danube, before ending with Alesi, Schumacher, Senna and Szisz.
Some of those names honor defining moments at the circuit. Turn 1 is now Piquet, a nod to Nelson Piquet’s victory in the first Hungarian Grand Prix and his famous outside move on Ayrton Senna in the inaugural 1986 race. Turn 4 recognizes Nigel Mansell, whose history at the Hungaroring includes sealing the 1992 world championship there after earlier disappointment, and Turn 12 commemorates Michael Schumacher, who secured his fourth title at the track in 2001.
Turn 11 may be the most familiar name to regular followers of the circuit, even before this announcement. Fans had long referred to that corner as Alesi after Jean Alesi’s practice crash there in 1995, and the anniversary naming has now made that unofficial tribute part of the circuit’s official map.
Ayrton Senna and Ferenc Szisz also have places on the lap. Senna gives his name to Turn 13 after becoming the first polesitter at the track, while Turn 14 is named after Szisz, the Hungarian-born engineer who won the first Grand Prix in history in 1906 and later served as head of Renault’s testing department.
The local references are spread through the middle sector. Turn 3 is Spring, reflecting the Valley of the Three Springs, while Turn 5 takes the name of Mogyoród. Turns 6 and 7 are grouped as Driving Center in recognition of Hungary’s first driver training facility, opened in 1998, and Turns 8 and 9 become Buda and Pest before Turn 10 takes the name Danube.
The naming process began during the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, when organizers asked fans to submit and vote on corner names. Those suggestions were then reviewed by a specialist panel that included motorsport professionals associated with the circuit since the inaugural 1986 race, along with representatives from specialist motorsport media.
The anniversary will leave a physical mark beyond the corner boards. Hamilton, Mansell and Alesi have also left handprints that will be cast in concrete and permanently installed in the Hungaroring’s run-off area, extending the 40th-anniversary tribute from the circuit map to the track itself.