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Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two in Hungary practiceImage source, ReutersImage caption, Lewis Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix a record eight timesByAndrew Benson
Ferrari led the field by a significant margin in Friday practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix but Charles Leclerc predicted a “tight” qualifying session on Saturday.
Leclerc trailed team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 0.148 seconds with McLaren’s Lando Norris 0.499secs back in third place.
Mercedes had a difficult day, championship leader Kimi Antonelli 13th fastest after a disrupted run on soft tyres and George Russell fifth.
The topic of the day was the new Aston Martin, which Fernando Alonso stated felt “much better” after an encouraging debut for the team that has been at the back all season.
The veteran two-time champion was 2.990secs off the pace in 19th place but had a lap faster by 0.4secs ruled out for track limits.
Even so, Alonso’s actual lap time marked a major step forward for a team that has been trailing by more than four seconds in recent races.
With a new Honda engine due for the next race, the Dutch Grand Prix after Formula 1’s summer break, Alonso stated there was a “positive atmosphere in the team now”.
“The car feels more glued to the ground and easier to drive to an extent when you are in control of the grip in the corners,” Alonso added.
“More predictable and an easier car but still a long way to go for us.
“Obviously this will be the first step. We need to find more performance both on the chassis but also on the engine.
“Zandvoort would be a good test for us with the new engine. So step by step but definitely in the right direction.”
The key was not only that the upgrade was a step in the right direction but also that it had delivered as expected.
There had been some nervousness around that for the first major upgrade under Adrian Newey’s technical leadership. In the past three seasons, upgrades had not delivered as expected, and it was critical for the future that this one, designed and developed with new tools at the team’s new factory, worked.
Newey stated further upgrades to the car were due for the Italian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix in September.
Alonso stated: “We had what we expected in terms of numbers and correlation, which is obviously very encouraging for the future as well, for next year’s car and the future upgrades into this year.
“It’s still a long way to go for us. Obviously, we’re starting so far behind, but this is the first step, hopefully, of good ones coming.”
The day was not all positive for Aston Martin, however. Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll spun out of the first session with what initially appeared to be a rear suspension failure.
He was then unable to take part in the second because there was not enough time to repair the car.
Team representative Pedro de la Rosa stated: “It is a suspension failure. We were confident it would not happen in Fernando’s car. That’s why we sent him out. Because of the lack of spares we couldn’t repair his car on time. Some parts need to be repaired and some needed to come here.”
Image source, Getty ImagesLance Stroll climbs out of his Aston Martin after it spun off during first practice
Ferrari had been expected to be strong at this track, which is one of the least power-dependent on the calendar, as it has the best car in the corners but it is lacking engine performance.
But Leclerc was cautious about reading too much into it. Hamilton did not speak to the media – only one driver from each team does a pooled interview on Fridays.
“It was a relatively strong day,” Leclerc stated. “I felt good with the car and the performance seemed to be there straight away so that’s a good thing but the weekend is long.
“From the Friday to Saturday we see teams making a jump in performance. Normally we are on the back foot on Friday so it’s a good thing we have a good Friday but we still need to stay on it and work hard to get better tomorrow.
“It is going to be tight tomorrow. I don’t expect us to have the gap we have today, we will have to do everything perfect. But if the feeling is there I am sure we will do a good job in Q3.”
George Russell was 0.933secs off the pace and behind Norris, with a significant upgrade on the McLaren, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The Briton stated: “It’s a bit of a shame because Budapest is one of the most enjoyable circuits to drive. They have resurfaced a third of the track and they’ve done a really bad job. It’s really bumpy.
“The track is braking up in the last corner so people are driving around the middle of the last corner and not hitting the apex.
“The underlying car pace doesn’t seem as competitive as we saw in Silverstone and Spa. There is a lot of room to improve. The wind is shifting a lot and that has a real impact into car balance. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.”
Antonelli, leading Hamilton by 45 points and Russell by 50, did not complete a qualifying simulation lap in the second session.
His first had to be abandoned when Franco Colapinto crashed his Alpine at the last corner, and his second came to grief when he made an error going into the chicane.
Antonelli was complaining all session about rear brake locking, but he was on a par with Norris’ time in the first sector on both laps before they were curtailed.
Deputy team principal Bradley Lord stated: “Lack of grip and balance, both drivers had to wind some front wing out, but on the long runs looked pretty consistent and competitive compared to the Ferrari, Red Bull and McLarens.”
Behind Russell, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was sixth fastest, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
Friday practice results
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