Photos of the first roof panel being lifted onto the new Hungaroring main roof

The Hungaroring recently experienced a historic moment as its area undergoes a major transformation. The first element of the main grandstand roof structure was installed a few days ago. The renovation work will continue after the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix with the second phase of the project by Market Építő Zrt. and Bayer Construct Zrt.. Every day, 620 people are working to ensure that the Hungarian race track can host the F1 field at its usual high standard during the August race.

The improvements will include

• the demolition and construction of the main atrium,
• the complete demolition of the paddock, the main building of the circuit, and the construction of a new, ready-to-use building, including the provision of the necessary facilities for the F1 race in August;
• and the redevelopment of the event space.

The roof structure weighs 1300 tonnes in total

Preparatory work on the roof structure of the main roof began about half a year ago, Zoltan Várnai, project manager of Bayer Construct Zrt., told our newspaper. The production plans were drawn up and the materials were procured. The heavy steel preassembly works have been ongoing since mid-November, with the participation of the KÉSZ Csoport. The first double main roof element was lifted on 21 January 2025, and after that they work in parallel: the other elements are assembled on site continuously, and when one is completed, it is lifted in, Zoltán Várnai explained the progress of the implementation.

As he said:  

Weighing a total of 1,300 tonnes and covering a surface area of 8,976 square metres, the heavy structure is scheduled to be fully completed by the end of March, meaning it will take four months to complete.

A video was also made of the first element being lifted, which can be viewed AT THIS LINK. 

The roof structure is made up of 21 elements

We also learned that the roof structure consists of two types of elements: 13 double main beams weighing 53.9 tonnes each (the first element to be lifted) and 8 single main beams weighing 19.1 tonnes each.

A special car crane lifts the elements

The roof elements will be lifted using a 650-tonne mobile crane, of which there is only one in Hungary. Its special feature is its extreme load capacity, otherwise it is a normal truck crane with rubber wheels, capable of autonomous driving, even in road traffic.

The lifting process is as follows: the crane lifts the assembled element, inserts it into place, and after the technicians have inserted the tie rods, the crane releases the element. Between the placement of each unit, the tie rods are installed.

Zoltán Várnai pointed out that only the heavy structure will be finished by the end of March, after which the work on the stands and the roof will continue. The unit should be completed by July.

Unbelievable figures for construction

The construction consortium is working at full speed to ensure that the Hungarian circuit will host the F1 field at the August race to the usual high standard. Hungaroring announced in January that over the last six months

- 23 785 m3 of concrete were processed;

- 7 604 tonnes of reinforcing steel installed;

- the earth around the paddock building was backfilled, thus completing the large-scale earthworks here. Work is already underway on the vertical structure of the 2nd floor in some areas of the building.

100 % of the precast reinforced concrete bleacher beams and nearly 50% of the bleacher elements have been installed on the main stand, while the stair elements are still being installed. 759 m2 of masonry structure has been built. 22 km of protective tubes and 80 km of lining tubes have been laid in the area surrounding the track strip, including 20 km of power cables. The depot's high-current system has been completed and the low-current systems are 90%.