Formula 1

FP2 GRAND PRIX OF HUNGARY : VETTEL LEADS

Published

3 years ago

17/07/2020

FP2 GRAND PRIX OF HUNGARY : VETTEL LEADS

After the first free practice this morning, we arrive at the second free practice ahead of the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel has topped the second Formula 1 practice session ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Wet conditions, which forced drivers to carefully tiptoe around the circuit, lasted the entire practice session. Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz recorded the second and third fastest times respectively.

After their recent troubles, both Ferrari drivers took the chance to record plenty of laps despite the conditions. In contrast, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Alex Albon decided to keep their powder dry by driving only single installation laps in the 90 minutes.

In total, only 12 drivers set timed laps.

The Racing Point car didn’t look strong in the wet last weekend in Austria, but any issues for the Pink Mercedes seemed to have been solved.

The Formula 3 qualifying session, which preceded this Formula 1 session, was suspended due to the wet weather. Despite the sweeper trucks providing us with their best efforts to push the water away, the track remained wet for the start of the second F1 practice session.

Rank	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
01	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari SF1000	1:40.464	12
02	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes W11	1:40.736	5
03	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault MCL35	1:41.784	6
04	Lance Stroll	Racing Point Mercedes	1:42.380	6
05	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Mercedes	1:42.470	5
06	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda AT01	1:42.588	7
07	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Honda RB16	1:42.820	4
08	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari VF-20	1:43.335	6
09	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo Ferrari C39	1:43.471	16
10	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari SF1000	1:43.725	10
11	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Ferrari C39	1:44.411	9
12	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault MCL35	1:46.000	5
13	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri Honda AT01	1:47.422	7
14	Esteban Ocon	Renault RS20	– :—.—	1
15	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault RS20	– :—.—	1
16	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes W11	– :—.—	1
17	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes FW43	– :—.—	2
18	George Russell	Williams Mercedes FW43	– :—.—	2
19	Alex Albon	Red Bull Honda RB16	– :—.—	3
20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari VF-20	– :—.—	1

Pierre Gasly was the first man to test his luck out on the track. A cautious but, important installation lap followed after a car issue kept him in the garage during FP1 this morning.

The weather forecast shows potential for rain on both Saturday and Sunday. Sergio Perez and Racing Point wanted to take advantage and record data in the wet conditions by staying out for the first official lap of the afternoon.

In last week’s qualifying session, the Pink Mercedes struggled in the wet. Lance Stroll and Perez exchanged fastest laps for over 15 minutes while the rest of the grid saved their intermediate and wet tyres.

With 40 minutes remaining, the action started to ramp up. Both Ferrari drivers tried their luck on a track which they deemed wet enough for the most extreme, blue striped, tyres.

Vettel was the first driver to push harder. He topped the timesheets with a 1:40.464. Bottas looked to challenge that time on his first venture but he pulled up three-tenths short.

A week after proving he is the F1 rain master, Hamilton came out on track for a single lap with inside the final 20 minutes. Verstappen also joined the world champion on track but opted for the intermediate tyres.

Towards the end of the session, Vettel started to push harder but misjudged a couple of turns in the second sector. He managed to slow the car down enough to avoid any drama in the barrier or gravel trap.

Following engine issues this morning, Gasly ran another lap at the end of the session. The Frenchman told his team on the radio that the back of the car was smelling like a burning BBQ.