Photo: Dávid Sándor Lapaj – official page / Facebook
Sports journalist Sándor Dávid, known to many as the Hungarian voice of Formula 1, has died. The news of his death was reported by his family on the official Facebook page of Sándor Dávid, as well as by his former workplace, Eurosport Hungary.
“It is with deep pain that we say goodbye to the defining figure of Hungarian sports journalism. We inform everyone who loved and respected him that Sándor Dávid “Lapaj” has passed away – a few weeks after his 89th birthday,” his family wrote. “His final resting place will be taken care of by his family; we are planning his farewell – in accordance with his request – in a close circle of family and friends,” they said.
With his inimitable style, he was the Hungarian voice of Formula 1 for a very long time, but he also spent many years in the editorial office of Eurosport, where legends circulate about how many different sports he broadcasted, Eurosport wrote.
Sándor Dávid, born in 1937, was a Hungarian champion as a team swordsman, and in 1959 he started working at Népsport, where he worked until 1976, then moved to Magyar Televízíó, where he was the editor of Autó-Motor-Sport. He gained great fame by broadcasting Formula 1 races.
The former press chief of the Hungaroring received the László Feleki Award in 1996, and in 2008, on the occasion of the World Day of Sports Journalists, the Hungarian Sports Journalists’ Association recognized his work with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and the National Association of Hungarian Journalists with a Gold Pen. In 2016, the Hungarian Olympic Committee awarded him a media award, and in 2022, he won the Ezüstgerely award.
He wrote more than twenty books, including three editions about András Balczó. We also used a book by Sándor Dávid and Dezső Dobor for our article about Ágnes Keleti in connection with her hundredth birthday.
