A major coup by Bernie Ecclestone, the 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix was the first Formula One race to take place behind the Iron Curtain.

[3] Due to the nature of the track, narrow, twisty and often dusty because of under-use, the Hungarian Grand Prix is associated with processional races, with sometimes many cars following one another, unable to pass.

Thierry Boutsen demonstrated this in 1990, keeping his slower Williams car in front of championship leader Ayrton Senna, unable to find a way by.

In 1997, Damon Hill came close to winning in the technically inferior Arrows-Yamaha, but his car lost drive on the last lap causing him to coast in second place.

The following year proved to be a memorable Hungarian Grand Prix; Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was involved in a first-lap incident under wet conditions that took out multiple cars, including Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, and Sergio Pérez, along with Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo; Ricciardo and Verstappen managed to finish the race while the other drivers involved in Bottas' crash all retired.

Following the resulting red flag, after which race leader Hamilton pitted for intermediates, making him the only car to start on the grid as the other drivers all started from the pits, Alpine's Esteban Ocon ended up leading the majority of the race, going on to take Team Enstone's first victory since 2014; Hamilton finished second after Sebastian Vettel was disqualified due to an insufficient fuel sample.