Hungary – Free Practice 2: Rain Gives Best Time to Gasly

The second free practice session begins under a very cloudy sky, but no raindrops are reported at the green light. Rain is expected during the session. The temperature is ideal for the public with 23°C and a track temperature of 31°C.

Valtteri Bottas is the first to take to the track. Let’s recall that the Finn has laps to catch up, not having been able to exploit the FP1 session due to a engine problem. The latter is new and no penalty for the team, as the change was made under parc fermé.

Quickly, rain is spotted on part of the circuit. The entire grid takes part in the session on slick tires. Alexander Albon goes off track as early as the 4th minute of the session. His Toro Rosso hit the tire wall before the last corner after playing with the limits of the circuit and biting the grass. The session is stopped and his car is very damaged.

RED FLAG: A nightmare start to FP2 for Alex Albon 🔴

He is off after losing control on Turn 14 #F1 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/UQoZiaDiWU

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2019

Meanwhile, the track is getting damp as the session is interrupted to clear the crashed car. The cars return to the track a few minutes later, still on slick tires. Caution will be needed until the racing line dries.

This is improving rapidly, with almost all the drivers on track. Quickly, Bottas takes the provisional fastest lap with a 1:18.289 before his teammate soon claims the top of the timesheet. The rain is intermittently reported but isn’t significant enough to wet the racing line.

Error by Vettel who cuts the middle chicane of the circuit after a braking mistake, without consequences.

The Red Bulls, led by Pierre Gasly in 1:17.854, take the top two times just before the rain intensifies. The drivers return to the pits.

After half an hour of the session, Valtteri Bottas tests the Hungarian asphalt with intermediate tires. Barely finishing the lap, the Finn returns to his pit. Some drivers try the intermediate tires, such as Kvyat, Räikkönen, or Perez, but like Bottas, they immediately return to the pits. The track is neither wet enough nor dry enough and needs to evolve to truly suit a specific tire type. Kvyat and Norris take their turn to test the track and their intermediate tires, without insisting.

As the session time approaches, Sainz takes to the track on slick tires but struggles with the track and can’t manage his car. Heading back to his garage, the track is still not suitable for slicks and the intermediates are degrading too quickly at the moment.

Carlos Sainz is the only driver out there…

And he still ran out of track! 🤦‍♂️#F1 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/tXJSoyUexa

— Formula 1 (@F1) 2 août /f1/actualite/23511-hongrie-essais-libres-1-hamilton-le-plus-rapide-probleme-moteur-pour-bottas-.html

20 minutes before the end of the session, the rain intensifies and the track becomes clearly soaked. This is the moment many drivers choose to hit the track on intermediate tires. The winding Hungarian track is tricky in the rain. Deviations from the racing line are noticeable for almost all the drivers.

Under these conditions, Verstappen’s Red Bull seems the most comfortable. All the drivers are getting their bearings in case of similar conditions during qualifying or the race. Bottas gently loses control of the Mercedes but manages to recover it.

The rain intensifies again as the session nears its end. The drivers continue to struggle to stabilize their cars but are gathering data in wet conditions. Pierre Gasly thus retains his best time achieved in dry conditions ahead of his teammate. The latter was impressive in the rain.

The full FP2 standings

CLASSIFICATION: END OF FP2

A Red Bull 1-2, closely followed by Mercedes in a rainy session at the Hungaroring 👀#F1 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/WqNZeyG0GE

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, /f1/actualite/23511-hongrie-essais-libres-1-hamilton-le-plus-rapide-probleme-moteur-pour-bottas-.html