Formula 1 will hold the 11th round of the season this weekend at the Hungaroring circuit in Hungary. This track, which has been on the Formula 1 calendar since 1986, was the stage of several achievements of our three-time world champion Ayrton Senna.
In a total of 8 races that he participated in Hungaroring, Senna took 3 pole positions, stood on the podium 6 times and won 3 victories. In other words, 50% of the times he stood on the F1 podium in Hungary, the three-time world champion was on the highest place of the podium.
And speaking of victories, let’s remember Senna’s three triumphs at the Hungaroring circuit:
1988 – Senna’s 1st victory at Hungaroring
In 1988, the year he won his first world title, Senna won the Hungarian Grand Prix with the smallest gap to Alain Prost at the finish line: 0s529
On Saturday, Ayrton scored his 24th career pole position with a lap of 1min27s635 and on Sunday, the Brazilian driver dominated the race from end-to-end over 76 laps. Driving a McLaren-Honda MP4/4, Senna got his 12th F1 victory.
1991 – Senna’s second victory at Hungaroring
In the year of his third world title, Senna got his second victory at Hungaroring. Driving a McLaren-Honda MP4/6, he took pole position on Saturday with a 1min16s147 lap and on Sunday he led all laps of Hungarian GP to celebrate his 31st F1 victory.
Senna’s main opponents in that race were Ricardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell, both Williams drivers. McLaren’s victory brought peace to the team’s pit lane, which regained the lead in the constructors’ championship and paid tribute to Soichiro Honda, the Japanese auto manufacturer’s founder, who had died a few days before the race.
1992 – Senna’s third Hungaroring victory
In 1992, already a three-time world champion, Senna triumphed for the third time at Hungaroring. After starting from the second position, the Brazilian driver took the lead at the end of lap 38, leading the race from lap 39 to 77. Beside him, Nigel Mansell, 1992 world champion, and Gerhard Berger, Ayrton’s team mate, stood on the podium.
It was one of Senna’s three wins in a very difficult year for the McLaren team, which saw Williams dominating most of the season.
