Hungary: Leclerc fastest in second practice

Second part of free practice

Cloudy. Dry. Air +23C, rail +33C

After a rainy first session, the second session was held in normal weather. Hungarian fans and tourists dried up and warmed up, and the track dried up. Many teams brought innovations and were able to work with them.

The second session was quieter than the morning. There were no crashes or crashes. Red Bull repaired Sergio Perez’s car, which broke down in the morning, Ferrari fixed Carlos Sainz’s car – and both drove quite a distance.

The protocol was led by Charles Leclerc, with a time of 1:17.686 – faster than the best time on Friday a year ago.

Results of the second session

First part of free practice

Cloudy. Rain. Air +24…22С, route +35…29С

The first practice took place in the traditional Hungaroring weather – it was dry, hot, overcast and then it started to rain. The main event was the return of Daniel Ricciardo, who replaced Nick de Vries on behalf of Helmut Marko, who was fired after ten races at the wheel of the AlphaTauri.

In the fourth minute, Marco shook his head again as Sergio Perez pulled into the grass before turn five, flipped the car and sent it into the barrier.

The session was stopped with red flags. Marshals went to the scene of the accident to evacuate it. “I can’t believe it,” said the Mexican. The command bridge couldn’t believe it either. It was not possible to restore Sergio’s car before the end of the session – he did not leave.

A few minutes after the session resumed, it started to rain and Valtteri Bottas took to the grass. Evacuation was not necessary, but the riders went into the pits, waiting for the situation to improve.

The spectators put on their raincoats and the riders were soon on intermediate tires, but the rain increased, effectively ending the session. Further into the course of the weekend, the chance of precipitation was slim, no one wanted to take any chances.

The rain subsided, the riders set off again on the intermediate tyres, but Carlos Sainz stopped the session, crashed the car and crashed into the barrier exiting the third corner. Red flags appeared again, but the blow wasn’t too strong – and Carlos returned to the pits on his own.

Protocol was led by George Russell with a lap time of 1:38.795, but many riders failed to complete the full lap, delaying their attempts until the second practice session.

Results of the first session