Lewis Hamilton has topped the opening practice session of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, while teammate Valtteri Bottas failed to set a lap time during the session.
Bottas had problems with his power unit on his out lap, which saw Mercedes make a late call to bring him back into the pits with reports of misfiring.
The Finn returned to the pit lane by going to the left of the bollard, not what is outlined in the race notes by race director Michael Masi.
Hamilton’s fastest time was a 1:17.233, which was over a tenth up on Max Verstappen, who ended the session in second place on the back of a German GP win.
However, Verstappen wasn’t comfortable in the second spot as Sebastian Vettel was third, just 0.001s down on the Dutchman.
The early part of the session saw rainfall, however there was never enough for consistent running on the intermediate tyres, with just a handful setting an installation lap on the wet-spec compound.
Verstappen complained about the sensitivity of his rear during the session, as he spun twice at Turn 1 and Turn 12, managing to avoid the barriers.
His teammate Pierre Gasly was fourth in the second Red Bull, ahead of Kevin Magnussen, who continues to run the updated Haas car this weekend while Romain Grosjean uses the old version.
Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari, leading Nico Hulkenberg who will be looking to redeem himself after his disappointing exit from the German Grand Prix last weekend.
The McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz were eighth and ninth respectively, however Sainz’s progress was halted in the final 20 minutes as the team discovered a water pressure issue.
Racing Point also struggled during the session, with both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll having a series of spins and lock-ups throughout. They ended the session in 15th and 18th respectively.
Friday’s second 90-minute practice session will begin at 15:00 local time
| POSITION | DRIVER | NATIONALITY | TEAM | TIME/GAP |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1m17.233s |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | NED | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda | + 0.165s |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Scuderia Ferrari | + 0.166s |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda | + 0.449s |
| 5 | Kevin Magnussen | DEN | Rich Energy Haas F1 Team | + 0.709s |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari | + 0.955s |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Renault F1 Team | + 1.184s |
| 8 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | + 1.298s |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | McLaren F1 Team | + 1.469s |
| 10 | Kimi Raikkonen | ITA | Alfa Romeo Racing | + 1.554s |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | Renault F1 Team | + 1.661s |
| 12 | Romain Grosjean | FRA | Rich Energy Haas F1 Team | + 1.740s |
| 13 | Daniil Kvyat | RUS | Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda | + 1.749s |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | THA | Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda | + 1.990s |
| 15 | Sergio Perez | MEX | SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team | + 2.092s |
| 16 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Alfa Romeo Racing | + 2.255s |
| 17 | George Russell | GBR | ROKiT Williams Racing | + 2.416s |
| 18 | Lance Stroll | CAN | SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team | + 2.489s |
| 19 | Robert Kubica | POL | ROKiT Williams Racing | + 3.089s |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport | no time |







Leave a Reply