F1 News

Update | Rainy qualification in Hungary very likely

Update | Rainy qualification in Hungary very likely

28-07-2022 18:46 Last update: 18:46
24

GPblog.com

In France the sun was shining brightly, but this may be completely different in Hungary. Temperatures will be warm, but on Saturday a lot of rain with a chance of thunderstorms is predicted in Budapest.

The weekend at the Hungaroring looks to be off to a hot start. According to the forecast of Weather.com temperatures of up to 34 degrees Celsius can be expected on Friday with an easterly wind of around 12 kilometres per hour.

On Saturday the weather will change. There is an 83 percent chance of rain forecast in Budapest and the temperature will drop to 27 degrees Celsius. Besides rain there is also a big chance of thunderstorms and the wind will come from the northwest with a speed of 15 to 25 kilometres per hour. Hungary could be the fourth Grand Prix weekend of 2022 with wet qualifying after Imola, Canada and Great Britain.

Sunday's 24 percent chance of rain is significantly less than Saturday's, but as the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix proved, a small shower is enough to turn the race on its head. A shower just before the start of last year's race caused many drivers to retire in start crashes. At the restart, Lewis Hamilton was the only driver not to swap his intermediates for slicks. As a result, Esteban Ocon surprisingly crossed the finish line first.

Update - 28 July 19:45 | Rain still forecast in Budapest

The chance of rain during Friday's free practice is nil, but it's different for the next day. Then FP3 and qualifying are scheduled to be completed by Formula 1 and that will most likely happen on a wet Hungaroring. There is an 80 percent chance that it will rain during the whole afternoon.

A day later it will clear up and there will only be a splash here and there, according to Weather.com. At the start of the race, the chance of precipitation is just over 20 percent.