F1 – 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix: UK start time and how to watch

Round 12 of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship sees the paddock hit their penultimate stop before the summer break. Here is the start time, plus useful info about the new qualifying tyre rules, for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The big news heading into the Hungaroring this weekend is the return of Daniel Ricciardo to the grid. The eight-time Grand Prix winner has replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri – a team Ricciardo previously raced at in their former guise as Toro Rosso.

However, it would likely take a miracle for the Australian’s comeback to result in a top 5 finish. AlphaTauri has consistently been toward the back of the field, having registered just two points all season.

???? @danielricciardo 2023 ➡️ 2013#F1 pic.twitter.com/8LSVIPSFX3

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) July 17, 2023

But Ricciardo may fancy his chances at scraping some points, at least. He has fond memories of Hungary after winning the 2014 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.

Additionally, the AlphaTauri has looked more competitive at high downforce circuits in 2023. For example, they had both cars reach Q2 in Monaco and Spain, which are both high downforce tracks – like the one in Hungary.

Elsewhere, the real question is: can anyone stop Max Verstappen, and which team will it be? McLaren looks resurgent after a spectacular outing at Silverstone, although they could not stop the Dutchman from taking a sixth-straight win.

Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin will all likely be in the podium fight, too.

So, what time does all the Hungarian Grand Prix action start this weekend?

Hungarian Grand Prix: start time for UK fans

F1’s third-straight European race means a third consecutive favourable start time for British viewers. The Hungarian GP is a traditional race weekend, meaning we will have the typical FP1/2/3, qualifying, and then race, schedule.

Friday 21 July gets the action underway with FP1, beginning at 12:30pm UK time. Shortly after, FP2 is at 4pm on the same day.

Spinning and winning for @Max33Verstappen in Hungary last year! ????????#HungarianGP #F1 @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/DaZa3DMds2

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 17, 2023

Next up is the third and final practice session, which comes at 11:30am on Saturday 22 July. This precedes the all-important qualifying, which is at 3pm on Saturday. Hungary has traditionally been a track where overtaking can be difficult – so this session will be vital.

Finally, the Hungarian Grand Prix will start at 2pm UK time on Sunday 23 July.

How can I watch the Hungarian Grand Prix?

I’m sure you know the drill by now, but just in case you don’t; Sky Sports are the live broadcaster of F1 in the UK. Therefore, they will be showing every single session of the Hungarian GP weekend on their respective channels.

All three days, including the race, are exclusively on Sky Sports F1, their designated channel for the sport. Unfortunately, there is currently no live Hungarian GP content scheduled to be on Main Event.

Flying around the outside with Charles Leclerc ????‍????#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/EfGG2zn8kc

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 16, 2023

As ever, Sky Sports access requires a subscription as part of a Sky TV package. You can find costs and prices here.

NOWTV provides a different option where you can access Sky Sports content without needing Sky TV. Using NOW, you can pay for a monthly pass or a day pass.

There is also a way to catch the very best from Budapest without paying a penny – although it is not on live. Channel 4 has highlights of all the big moments from qualifying and the race for you to enjoy absolutely free.

Qualifying highlights are on from 6:45pm on Saturday, with the key parts of the race on at 6:30pm on Sunday.

The qualifying could be particularly interesting to see due to the trial of some new tyre rules.

What are the new tyre rules for Hungarian GP qualifying?

Teams will have mandatory tyre compounds that they are allowed to run in each part of qualifying at the Hungaroring this year. Typically, the grid will use the softest and fastest compound in Q1,2, and 3, as it gives them the best chance of advancing.

But they will not be able to do that this weekend. Instead, the mandatory usage is as follows:

-Q1 = Hard (white wall) tyre compound only

-Q2 = Medium (yellow wall) tyre compound only

-Q3 = Soft (red wall) tyre compound only

This is, of course, only the case for a dry qualifying session.

F1 will be testing the new ATA (Alternative Tyre Allocation) Qualifying format at the #HungarianGP ????????

The Qualifying format will be:
Q1 – Hard Tyres
Q2 – Medium Tyres
Q3 – Soft Tyres#F1 #Formula1 #McLaren pic.twitter.com/tqa2oAgMGa

— McLaren F1 News ???????????????????????????????????? (@TheMcLarenZone) July 17, 2023

The aim of this is to try and reduce the number of tyres used throughout a Grand Prix weekend. With this staggered qualifying style, Pirelli has allocated 11 sets of tyres to each car – this is a reduction of two from the typical 13 sets.

As a result, the manufacturer will bring 160 fewer tyres to this Round.

There is also the faint hope that the use of all three tyre compounds could spice up the grid order, presumably. Some teams have struggled to get their tyres in the optimum working window during races, particularly the hards; in the shorter time of qualifying, this could be extremely problematic.

Make sure you don’t miss that, and the Hungarian Grand Prix, by tuning in at their aforementioned start time.

Featured image credit: Getty