Welcome to Budapest for the start of the preparations in view of the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. Formula 1 is back for back-to-back races before the summer break and Daniel Ricciardo returns to the grid after Nyck de Vries lost his AlphaTauri seat.
All eyes will be on Daniel Ricciardo over the next few days, but who will we be looking at standing on the top step of the podium on Sunday? A Red Bull win will see them break McLaren’s 35-year record of 11 consecutive victories. But the Hungaroring has thrown up some unusual moments though over the last decade and the form guide can often go out of the window.
A new F1 qualifying format will be trialled for the first time this weekend: under the trial, the number of dry tyre sets available to each car for the weekend is reduced from 13 to 11. Rather than teams and drivers having a free tyre choice in Saturday’s hour-long session, there will instead be mandatory tyres set for each segment of qualifying.
Providing that track is dry for the session:
In Q1 only the hard tyre will be available.
In Q2 only the medium tyre will be available.
In Q3 only the soft tyre will be available.
If a wet session is declared then the drivers and teams will have a free choice of tyre.
The light went green at the end of the pit lane and we were under way in Budapest with the first free practice session for the 2023 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo was among the first drivers out on track.
With the threat of rain very much around, we had all 20 cars out there immediately. However, Sergio Perez crashed out of Practice One after just two minutes! A disaster for the Mexican as he spun into the barriers at Turn Five. He dipped a wheel on the left hand side on the turn into the corner and went careering off: “No I cannot believe this,” Perez said on team radio. “That is an elementary mistake,” pointed out Sky F1’s Anthony Davidson. A busy lunchtime ahead for the Red Bull mechanics to fix Sergio Perez’s car.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
The green light was back on again and Practice One was back under way, as 49 minutes remained in this opening session. The rain arrived at the Hungaroring with brollies going up in the grandstands and rain drops spattering the media centre windows. At that stage it looked like it was worst on the pit straight.
The rain was coming down harder, and as the majority of the field headed to the safety of the pit lane, Valtteri Bottas was caught out with a spin at Turn 12. The good news was that we weren’t expecting the rain to last for too long, so there was a good chance we would see some representative running later in the session.
The only car out on track was Lewis Hamilton, who was enjoying a bit of intermediate running. However, he then came into the pits, meaning we had an empty track, with 38 minutes to go until the end of the first free practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix. That Sergio Perez crash and resulting red flag meant we had yet to see any drivers set a lap time!
Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz were the next drivers to head out on the intermediate tyres. Ocon returned to the pits after one exploratory outing as Ted Kravitz reported the rain was intensifying a bit again. We were yet to see any times set in the session with arrival of the rain.
Despite the initial forecast, there appeared to be little hope of that rain clearing any time soon. It was in fact getting heavier, and there were a couple of very brave McLaren drivers out there. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were quickly called in, which left daredevil Alpine driver Pierre Gasly as the only car on track, which didn’t last long.
Sergio Perez’s damaged Red Bull arrived back in the pit lane. Red Bull mechanics were collecting the car off the truck and the repair works could begin ahead of Practice Two. The one positive for the Mexican was that the limited running taking place as a result of these rain showers were that he didn’t miss out on too much track time compared to others, even if his confidence and pride were dented.
No one was out on track at this stage, although Max Verstappen strapped on his helmet again.
With 14 minutes until the end of FP1, Carlos Sainz spun on the exit of Turn Three and has beached his Ferrari. He clipped the barriers in the spin and then as he tried to come back onto the track he got stuck: “Yeah, I’m stuck,” he said over the team radio. Carlos Sainz was back on his way as an army of marshals helped push his Ferrari back onto track and he could make his way back to the pits. He had damage to his front wing, with his left end plate dangling off. Thanks to those marshals, that was only a short delay.
Daniel Ricciardo was heading out again and these conditions could actually help him get used to his new car. Ted Kravitz reported from the Mercedes garage that they felt there was nothing to gain in these final minutes of this wet session and so the seven-time world champion was out of his car and taking an early lunch. His team-mate may be finished but George Russell went fastest in the other Mercedes. He posted a 1:40.444 to go quicker than Fernando Alonso by 0.243s. But Russell is not top for long as Oscar Piastri then replaced him in the McLaren with a 1:39.906 which put him clear by half a second.
The Chequered flag was out and George Russell ended up top of that disrupted opening practice session. The Mercedes driver posted 1:38.795 with his final lap to reclaim top spot from Oscar Piastri. Lance Stroll completed the top three with Lando Norris fourth and Fernando Alonso fifth.
Leave a Reply