Hungary – Free Practice 1: Hamilton the fastest, engine problem for Bottas
Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest time of the morning at the wheel of his Mercedes while his teammate Valtteri Bottas did not complete a lap due to an engine issue. Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, separated by a thousandth, follow the Briton.
It is under a light rain that the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend begins with the first free practice session. The drivers quickly head out and complete a first fast lap. Charles Leclerc sets the initial benchmark in his Ferrari with a time of 1:19.638, three-tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel’s other Ferrari.
The Red Bulls are among the favorites for Sunday, so the Austrian team begins its work and Pierre Gasly has aerodynamic measurement elements on his car at the beginning of the session. Just like at Alfa Romeo, where Kimi Räikkönen tests a new wing whose performance is measured with fluorescent green paint, as we often see during winter testing.
The weekend starts badly for Valtteri Bottas, who wants to make up for his mistake from the last Grand Prix with a good result. Engine cuts on the Finnish driver’s car force him to rush back to the pits, crossing the white line and missing the bollard marking the entry limits. The incident is reported to the stewards, who, however, do not open an investigation. Mercedes decides to change the power unit on the driver’s W10 with an engine from the allowed pool, which will not penalize the Finn this weekend.
Better late than never 😅#F1 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/wuHyU0QjKn
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2019
The weather conditions are changing, and it is quite difficult to know if the rain will stop or intensify. However, at the start of the session, the track remains dry, allowing the drivers to finally set fast laps with the Soft tires. Tires that the teams will have to return to Pirelli after 20 minutes of the session as stipulated by the regulations.
After 30 minutes of the session, Lewis Hamilton is the fastest with a time of 1.17.233. He leads Max Verstappen’s Red Bull by 642 tenths of a second and Pierre Gasly who places his Red Bull more than a second behind the Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Sergio Pérez (Racing Point), Nico Hülkenberg (Renault), Carlos Sainz (McLaren), and Lando Norris (McLaren) complete the provisional Top 10.
The rain reclaims the track at Hungaroring, and Max Verstappen spins out during a fast lap in the last corner. The Dutchman complains about a lack of grip in the final sector.
Max Verstappen is now back facing the right way 😅#F1 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/HXIT6BXiDz
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2019
The drivers start fitting intermediate tires to test the track conditions, like the two Haas drivers, Lewis Hamilton, or even Antonio Giovinazzi who still hasn’t set any time midway through the session, just like Bottas…
**After an hour of session**, the rain stopped again and the drivers went back out on dry-weather tires. Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg made a mark at the top of the timesheet while Sebastian Vettel closed in dangerously on Lewis Hamilton with the second-fastest provisional time, less than two-tenths behind the Mercedes.
Grip remains one of the keys to the Hungarian circuit, as demonstrated by the two Racing Points spinning out in the chicane during the session. Max Verstappen also makes another mistake towards the end of the session.
Both Racing Points have now taken a spin 😲#F1 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/Ghojao4Tat
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2019
The session ends with Lewis Hamilton’s best time, but the competition has tightened behind him: Max Verstappen takes second place, 0.165 seconds behind, just a thousandth of a second ahead of Sebastian Vettel.
The full FP1 rankings
CLASSIFICATION: END OF FP1
Lewis Hamilton ends the first session fastest at the Hungaroring, closely followed by Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel 🧐 #F1 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/I10omdOLdk
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2019
