Hungary – Free Practice 2: Ricciardo and Red Bull do it again, Wehrlein and Palmer in the wall!
Daniel Ricciardo once again set the fastest time of the session after having clocked the best time this morning. He is ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas at the end of a session marked by two consecutive red flags following the off-track excursions of Pascal Wehrlein and Jolyon Palmer.
With the fastest time by Daniel Ricciardo in his Red Bull this morning, the cards are reshuffled for this second free practice session of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen return to their Force India and Haas respectively after giving up their seats to test drivers this morning. And it doesn’t take long to see the top drivers on the track. Valtteri Bottas sets an initial benchmark at 1:19.546, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel at 1:19.698.
Hamilton, third fastest, nevertheless complains of a strange whistling noise from the engine of his Mercedes. The morning leader, Daniel Ricciardo, takes his Red Bull onto the track and confirms the ambitions of the Austrian team by immediately positioning himself in second place for his first fast lap.
The battle for the best time starts very early and already seems very tight as Hamilton sets a new best time at 1:19.373, just ahead of Max Verstappen at 1:19.474 before all these competitors are topped by an impressive Ricciardo at 1:19.324! Will the Red Bulls be the cars to beat this weekend?
Be that as it may, spurred on by the blue single-seaters, Hamilton redoubles his efforts on track and sets an impressive 1:18.779, propelling him to the top. Behind him, Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne confirm McLaren’s good form by positioning themselves in 7th and 10th places.
It’s already been half an hour since the session started and there has been a lot of action on the track. Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat, very discreet this morning, reminded everyone of their prowess by posting the 8th and 9th fastest times. The Renaults are currently a bit behind with a 12th time for Nico Hülkenberg and an 18th time for Jolyon Palmer, who experienced a small mechanical issue at the beginning of the session.
Car fixed ⚙️ @JolyonPalmer back on track 👍 #FP2 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/A5ifJbepQn
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet /f1/actualite/22180-hongrie-essais-libres-1-ricciardo-surpend-tout-le-monde-et-place-sa-red-bull-en-tete.html
On Super Soft tires, Sebastian Vettel takes the top spot on the timing sheet for the first time of the weekend with a lap of 1:18.638. He edges out Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes by 18 hundredths. However, bad luck seems to be on the other side of the Ferrari garage this afternoon as Kimi Räikkönen is forced to stop his car on track due to an engine problem: “I have no power!” the Finn announces over the radio. He eventually manages to restart his car and brings it back to his pit at a moderate pace.
Clearly, Daniel Ricciardo and his Red Bull are unstoppable today: the Australian once again sets the fastest time at 1:18.455, beating his best time from the morning. He is now only 0.19 seconds away from the track’s absolute record!
Top in the morning session and, right now, @danielricciardo is fastest in FP2 👏 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Xxsda7Nk9y
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet /f1/actualite/22180-hongrie-essais-libres-1-ricciardo-surpend-tout-le-monde-et-place-sa-red-bull-en-tete.html
At Force India, it’s Esteban Ocon, who did not drive this morning, leading Sergio Pérez by two-tenths. The Frenchman, as he progresses, is increasingly getting the upper hand over his experienced teammate. Both men are ranked outside the Top 10 halfway through the session, in 11th and 12th places.
As customary, the last half hour will mainly be reserved by the teams for long race simulation stints. It is Mercedes who goes first in this exercise. Valtteri Bottas is credited with the 3rd fastest time while Lewis Hamilton remains more discreet in 5th place.
The red flag is waved for a major off-track incident involving Pascal Wehrlein. The German lost control of his Sauber at turn number 11. He immediately reassures his team over the radio.
Given the violence of the crash, Pascal Wehrlein, who exited the car by himself, was taken to the circuit’s medical center for examinations. The German driver had already missed the first two races of the season following an accident at the Race of Champions last January, which had damaged his vertebrae.
#HungarianGP 🇭🇺
L’énorme crash de Pascal #Wehrlein pendant les FP2 😳
La vidéo ➡️ https://t.co/sRyp59NMNp pic.twitter.com/oqOpo7GY39
— La F1® sur CANAL (@LaF1SurCanal) 28 juillet /f1/actualite/22180-hongrie-essais-libres-1-ricciardo-surpend-tout-le-monde-et-place-sa-red-bull-en-tete.html
Reassuring news has come from the medical center from which Wehrlein quickly emerged. The session resumes for the last 25 minutes of the day. Almost all the drivers have returned to the track, but the Top 10 will not change until the intervention of another red flag.
This time, it’s Jolyon Palmer who lost control of his Renault. The Briton, under pressure due to his lack of results, had already caused a session interruption this morning after destroying his front wing on a curb.
🚩 RED FLAG 🚩
TEAM: “Is the car ok, Jo?”
PAL: “..No”#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/l4ABkj9ZqL— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet /f1/actualite/22180-hongrie-essais-libres-1-ricciardo-surpend-tout-le-monde-et-place-sa-red-bull-en-tete.html
After the track was cleaned, the session resumes once again for the final 12 minutes. The long stints planned by the teams have been somewhat shortened and there are just a few minutes left to chase Ricciardo’s best time. With no one able to improve, the day ends with a double victory for the Australian in FP1 and FP2. He becomes the man to beat for the weekend!
The full ranking of FP2:
INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP2): @danielricciardo likes the Hungaroring 😃 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/f9nzVVf0Bw
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet /f1/actualite/22180-hongrie-essais-libres-1-ricciardo-surpend-tout-le-monde-et-place-sa-red-bull-en-tete.html
