Hungary reveals $20m ’ghost race’ discount

Hungaroring boss Zsolt Guylay admits the F1 race promoters got a discount on their 2020 race fee.

The circuit near Budapest is among the eight confirmed ’ghost races’ on this year’s initial amended calendar.

"All in all, we managed to save the Hungarian budget almost six billion forints (US $20 million)," the Magyar Tavirati Iroda news agency quoted Guylay as saying.

Liberty Media also extended the race’s contract for another year, from 2026 to 2027.

"We have saved a lot for both the state and for ourselves," said Guylay.

"It’s not going to be any easier than organising a traditional race though because we have to build a containment for the teams inside the circuit," he said.

Also in exchange for forgoing ticket revenues in 2020, other ’ghost race’ venues Spa-Francorchamps and Monza reportedly also received contract extensions.