HUNGARIAN GP – Carlos Sainz fastest ahead of Max Verstappen by a tenth in first practice
Carlos Sainz was fastest in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver set an 18.750 to go a tenth and a quarter ahead of Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver put himself ahead of his championship rival Charles Leclerc by a tenth and a half after the top three traded lap times throughout the session.
The fact that Sainz once more outpaced team-mate Leclerc was also notable, with the Spaniard appearing to have had the edge last weekend in France but being unable to compete for victory due to a grid penalty for taking new engine parts. Leclerc had vowed early on Friday he was ready to move on from crashing out of the French Grand Prix.
The hour-long session at the Hungaroring saw the lap times tumble by four and a half seconds at a circuit which is hardly used the rest of the year. The gap between the top three saw them switch positions several times, as the circuit rubbered in setting both teams up for another close battle ahead of the summer break.
Lando Norris put his McLaren fourth fast half a second ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell, who at one stage topped the session. Norris was the last driver out on track, but it is a promising start for McLaren who are in a battle with Alpine. The session passed without any major drama, with Sergio Perez splitting the two Mercedes going nearly nine half hundredths ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Along with Ferrari, there had also been speculation that the smooth nature and layout of the Hungaroring could suit Mercedes, who secured a first double podium of the season last weekend in France.
That decision was likely influenced by the fact rain is expected all day on Saturday, meaning there is unlikely to be any dry running in Practice Three, while qualifying also appears almost certain to take place in wet conditions.
While that was an encouraging result for the Silver Arrows, the reality was that had Leclerc have finished the race and Sainz not been facing a grid penalty, neither Hamilton nor Russell would have made the rostrum.
Daniel Ricciardo put his McLaren eighth going ahead of both Alpine’s by four hundredths of a second ahead of the two Alpines. Esteban Ocon going three hundredths faster than his teammate Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard along with Hamilton having minor offs during the session as he rounded out the top ten.
Sebastian Vettel who announced his retirement on Thursday put his Aston Martin eleventh missing out on the top ten by five-thousandths of a second, and was three hundredths ahead of his teammate Lance Stroll. The team has an intriguing upgrade which has a front ring end plate which the regulations were designed to prevent.
The other notable upgrade was on the Haas, which features an extensive package of changes and has been dubbed the ‘white Ferrari’ for its similarity to the car that has been the qualifying king this season. However both drivers Kevin Magnussen could only go seventeenth a tenth ahead of his teammate Mick Schumacher.
Alpha Tauri continued their slump in form with Pierre Gasly four hundredths behind Stroll in thirteenth going almost a tenth and faster than his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Guanyu Zhou was ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon.
Haas has brought upgrades for this weekend, Kevin Magnussen was seventeenth ahead of teammate Mick Schumacher, that may have been down to the team evaluating the upgrades. Schumacher did have a few off moments.