Hungarian Grand Prix: Friday Practice F1 Driver and Team Reports

With McLaren's Lando Norris topping FP2 at the end of the day, and Carlos Sainz putting the Ferrari tops in FP1 it is clear that 'things' at the top are going to be closer than ever.

Throw into that Max Verstappen in an updated Red Bull RB20, and we have the recipe for a humdinger Qualifying session on Saturday. Keep in mind that a mere second separated the top 15 drivers at the end of FP2, with the top eight within half a second.

This is what drivers and their teams had to say after Day 1 at Hungaroring:

P1. Lando Norris: "Overall, it’s been a good practice Friday. We made some steps forward between the sessions which is pleasing, and the feeling of the car is reasonable. The grip still feels a little low, so it can be tricky in places, but we’ll work on that tonight to be in a good position tomorrow for Qualifying as it’s very close this weekend."

P13. Oscar Piastri: “A mixed day on track. FP1 looked very good but FP2 was challenging, so it’s important we get an understanding of why that was the case. The other car looked quick today which is a positive for the team. If we can sort out whatever happened in FP2, then we should be somewhere close to the front with a strong Quali.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: “Friday practice at the Hungaroring has been useful with extremely hot conditions in the first session, followed by a cooler FP2. We could work on our test items throughout the day, which has helped us understand the set-up of the car. We were able to look at different tyres as well and how they behave in these hot conditions, this provides the team with important data on which compound is the best suited for the race. Overall, we can see that the car behaves well. Lando was in a good rhythm all the way. With Oscar, there are a few things we need to look at overnight to allow us to be in condition to compete for the first positions on the grid in what looks like a very tight field – not only because of the usual competitors, but it looks like some midfielders have made a decent step forward as well. Anyhow, it looks like an exciting weekend ahead for the fans.”

P2. Max Verstappen: “I think we have had a good practice day with the upgrades that we have brought to this race. Of course, there is still a lot to do to make sure we optimise the car, but I think it was a solid start to the weekend. It is important to try to look into all the details and work to make sure we have the best set up possible for the car for qualifying. Of course, FP2 was a bit interrupted with the red flag so we didn’t manage to get the full long runs in that we wanted, but it was the same for everyone. We’ll look into things and work from there. All in all, it was a good start to the weekend."

P4. Sergio Perez: “It has been a good Friday, I think we made a good step from FP1 to FP2, we made the right changes and took the right direction. This is the most comfortable I have felt with the car at this stage of the weekend in a while. The steps we have made throughout the day have been the best we can do and that is really positive. We are feeling good and the long run looked promising too. I think we can still really dial up the set-up now and at the end of the day it is just about putting everything together at the right time. Our time will come, it’s head down for now and look forward to tomorrow. Let’s see what the rest of the weekend holds for us now."

Team Report: Friday’s free practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix was productive but also one of mixed fortunes for Scuderia Ferrari HP, slightly compromised by Charles Leclerc crashing in the second session, preventing him from setting a meaningful lap time. Carlos Sainz on the other hand had a solid day, quickest in the first session and third in the later one. Of course, there is still a lot of fine tuning to do during the final hour of practice, which starts tomorrow at 12.30 CEST before qualifying at 16.00 CEST.

P3. Carlos Sainz: "Overall, we had a positive day, which is always important here because this is a very tricky track to set up the car. Additionally, due to the high temperatures, it was important to see how all three compounds reacted to the extreme heat on track. We gathered some useful information, and it looks like we are in better shape this weekend. However, it’s only Friday, so let’s see tomorrow."

P18. Charles Leclerc: "The car feels pretty good so far and we had a more consistent day compared to the past few weekends. I ran a bit wide in turn 4 and lost the car on the kerb, which thankfully did not cause too much damage, but enough for my session to be over. We will focus on recovering the mileage we missed out on in FP3."

P7. George Russell: "It was a very hot day out there today! It wasn't quite as bad in the car as I was expecting it to be, but I am sure that will change during the race on Sunday. Everyone in the garage is doing a great job working in such challenging conditions, with temperatures upwards of 35°C in there. We got a lot of laps in today on the long run. That is really useful data for us to go through tonight. It will help dictate our strategy for the rest of the weekend and inform any improvements we can make to the car ahead of tomorrow. The McLarens and Red Bulls looked very quick today, so we know we've got some ground to make up. We don't seem to be quite as competitive in these very hot conditions so that is something we need to understand. We're excited to see what we can do and hopefully we will be in the mix in the top-five."

P5. Lewis Hamilton: "It is definitely very hot here this weekend. It typically is here in beautiful Budapest at this time of year! Today wasn't our best day of the season so far. The car set-up didn't feel great, and we weren't on our best form. We made a few small tweaks between the sessions but nothing major. We've got some ideas as to why the car wasn't at its best though so we will work hard on it overnight, looking to make improvements ahead of tomorrow. The competitive order is very close once again out there. Whilst our single lap pace wasn't the best, our long run was decent. We are still a step behind the ultimate pace at the front but will do what we can to close as much of that gap as possible for Saturday."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: "We've had a productive day. We've got some development parts on the car and have been using the sessions to understand the effect they are having on the car balance. The track has been very hot, which is giving the tyres a tough time, but it's a good test of whether we've improved our long run performance. The single lap balance isn't where we need it yet, but we've got time to work on that overnight and in FP3 tomorrow. There's plenty of areas where we can find a bit more pace on both the single lap and long run, so it's encouraging that if we can make a bit of progress, we should be in a strong position for the rest of the weekend."

Haas: Everyone was struggling with degradation, we have work to do there

FP1 P20. Oliver Bearman: “It’s always good fun being back in the car for FP1 with the team. They were very interesting conditions, the hottest track I’ve ever experienced, and that made it quite tough from inside the car, and not just for me, but for the tires as well. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and can’t wait for the next one although that’s a long time away.”

P15. Nico Hulkenberg: “Only FP2 in the car for me today, but the session went okay. You’re always a little bit behind and tight on time, and the red flag cut things a bit short, but it is what it is. The feeling in the car wasn’t too bad from the get-go, so that’s the best thing to take away. We’re all pretty close together again and we know overtaking is difficult around here, so track position is king tomorrow.”

P6. Kevin Magnussen: “In FP1 we weren’t very quick but we seemed to pick up the pace for FP2. The track was slightly cooler so maybe that had an impact – I’m not sure – but we were a lot more competitive and hopefully we can keep that for tomorrow. We’re doing our thing, it’s been going well lately, and we want to keep it going. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t keep the form however the field is so tight that one weekend you’re going to be up there and another weekend perhaps not. We’ve got to make the best of it when we have the pace to score points.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: “Kevin had a pretty severe brake issue in FP1, so he had a bit of damage on the car and hence we couldn’t get much information from that session. Ollie did a decent job in first practice. It was pretty difficult with track temperature being 58 degrees and we ran medium and soft tires, but on both of them Ollie just got one lap. There was very little opportunity for him to explore the car that session but considering that, he did a good job again. In FP2, things were a bit better as Kevin was happier with the car, and although his brakes still weren’t great, his low-fuel lap time was decent. Nico could’ve done something very similar I think but he had traffic on his flying lap. On high-fuel, as you can see, everyone was struggling with degradation so we also have some work to do there.”

P14. Esteban Ocon: “It is always nice coming back to the Hungaroring, a track I enjoy driving and a place where I will always have fond memories. Overall, it was a difficult pracice Friday, with the car not quite working or behaving in the way we wanted after trying some experiments in both sessions. We are struggling slightly with general balance and grip on both the short and long runs. The car did feel better on high fuel, but we need to improve across the board if we are to be competitive for the rest of the weekend. We need to look into these things and try to make improvements ahead of Qualifying tomorrow.”

P16. Pierre Gasly: “It is great to be back in Hungary, although, on our side today, it has been a challenging start to the weekend. Obviously, the high temperatures here are quite tough to contend with and the car did not feel great today. There is lots for us to work on overnight in terms of car balance and set up, so of course, the simulator work back at base tonight will be important. We are still yet to find the car’s sweet spot at this track. There’s more to come from us and hopefully we can put our learnings into practice ahead of tomorrow and be in better shape.”

P8. Daniel Ricciardo: “I’m very happy with where we ended today in terms of feeling of the car, balance, and obviously classification. I’m much happier now after FP2 compared to where we were this morning following FP1 as I felt we had a bit of work to do after that session. FP2 was solid and we’re in the fight; I was pretty happy and comfortable with the car with both low and high fuel. It’s just practice but it was one of those good Fridays. Tomorrow is a new day, we’ll make some finetunes tonight and keep it rolling.”

P19. Yuki Tsunoda: “Generally, it was a good day for us as a team and started well in FP1. The disrupted FP2 on track and issues on my car meant our run plan slightly changed in the afternoon, and while everyone was doing their long run I struggled to have a clean lap. Overall, the team showed some strong performance, like in the first races, so the energy is positive.”

Alan Permane, Racing Director: “It was a half-good day for our team. Unfortunately, Yuki’s car had a problem with the front suspension setup in FP2. We figured out what the problem was, but we couldn’t fix it in time, so he really didn’t have any sort of FP2 this afternoon. On the other side of the garage, Daniel was very happy with his car. It looks quick and competitive, and we know that’s where Yuki should and will be tomorrow. Overall, it’s been a slightly frustrating but mainly promising practice day.”