Despite second practice being stymied by wet weather, Lewis Hamilton showed all he needed to ensure he remains the man to beat this weekend in Hungary.
A week after a Friday of practice with extensive running and little meaningful conclusions to take from it, now we have the opposite. Almost totally absent from FP2, Lewis Hamilton still managed to send a marker to everyone on the grid with his performance in Hungary on Friday.
Yes, Pierre Gasly managed to top the session with a soft-shod 1:17.854, but Hamilton was only 0.141 seconds back. On hards. That’s pretty damn ominous. Whether you think he had a full-blown virus or nothing more than a tickle in his throat in Germany, it’s clear he’s shown up here raring to go.
To be that close to the front on hards – not to mention fastest in the first session – makes this nothing short of his race to lose, as things stand.
Indeed, even by his lofty standards this was an impressive Friday, and I wonder how much of that is him being back to “normal” Lewis, and how much is him having that little bit extra motivation after a few days of seeing everyone praise Max Verstappen.
He might not have left his bed, but I’m sure he had his phone on his nightstand...
Friday Figures
- 16. Laps completed by Valtteri Bottas on Friday. Not the ideal start to a weekend where he really needs a solid haul of points.
- 0.141 seconds. Difference between Hamilton’s best lap in FP2 (on hards) and Pierre Gasly's session-best time (on softs).
- According to a very rough estimate from Pirelli, the difference between the two compounds is supposedly 1.2 seconds per lap, which makes Hamilton's effort very impressive nonetheless.
Quick Hits
Interesting tidbit from the team principal’s press conference regarding moving to 22 races in 2020, with all but Alfa Romeo in favour. For both team personnel and the quest to conserve car components, I would think the schedule is demanding enough as it is, but maybe the opportunity for more racing, and more revenue outweighs that.
It’s official: Alfa Romeo are appealing their penalty from Hockenheim. Generally speaking, these things rarely succeed, but wouldn’t it be Williams’ luck to see this one overturned?
Top banter from Carlos Sainz regarding the marshals in FP2, although I wonder if he might be given an “accidental” double waved yellow…
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