Hungary – Free Practice 1: The McLarens Ahead of Alonso
Sunny first free practice session at the Hungaroring circuit dominated by McLaren: Lewis Hamilton ahead of Jenson Button. Fernando Alonso, the championship leader, is not far behind with his third fastest time.
It was under the sun and a magnificent blue sky that the first free practice session began on the Hungaroring track. This allowed different teams to finally test in optimal conditions the new features brought to the cars. This was the case for Lotus with its double DRS reinstalled on Kimi Räikkönen’s E20, as well as Caterham, which debuted a new package at Silverstone, and McLaren, which is fine-tuning these innovations from Hockenheim.
During this session, three test drivers are on track: Dani Clos with HRT, Valtteri Bottas with Williams, and Jules Bianchi with Force India, who can finally enjoy some track time on a dry surface. The Frenchman complains about a somewhat unstable VJM05, just like Paul di Resta.
In the first half-hour, the drivers mainly perform installation laps to clean the track, which is traditionally quite dusty at the start of the weekend. Räikkönen is then the fastest with a time of 1:25.117, ahead of another Finn, Heikki Kovalainen.
Under the Hungarian heat, it’s the McLarens that stand out, with Button and Hamilton playing cat and mouse at the top of the timesheets, seemingly confirming the return to form of the MP4-27 as seen in Germany. Jenson Button even stated that he once again had the fastest car on the grid.
On this track that is not yet sufficiently rubbered in, many drivers are experiencing some braking approximations at the first corner at the end of the long start-finish straight.
As the final 30 minutes begin, it’s an all-Mercedes quartet leading the field with Hamilton, Button, Schumacher, and Rosberg ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the current world championship leader. The Spaniard slots himself between the two Mercedes drivers at the end of the session.
At the end of the hour and a half, Hamilton retains his lead ahead of his teammate and Fernando Alonso. The Mercedes are also in the mix in 4th and 6th positions. On a track somewhat resembling Monaco, the German car is comfortable, but the heat could pose problems during the race. A great performance by Romain Grosjean, who positions himself between the two Mercedes.
Results of Free Practice 1 of the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Hamilton | McLaren | 1:22.821 | 30 | |
2 | Button | McLaren | 1:22.922 | +0.101 | 24 |
3 | Alonso | Ferrari | 1:23.397 | +0.576 | 24 |
4 | Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 1:23.628 | +0.807 | 29 |
5 | Grosjean | Lotus F1 Team | 1:23.633 | +0.812 | 24 |
6 | Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 1:23.845 | +1.024 | 26 |
7 | Massa | Ferrari | 1:23.904 | +1.083 | 25 |
8 | Räikkönen | Lotus F1 Team | 1:23.983 | +1.162 | 24 |
9 | Bottas | Williams | 1:24.152 | +1.331 | 24 |
10 | Perez | Sauber | 1:24.268 | +1.447 | 27 |
11 | Maldonado | Williams | 1:24.300 | +1.479 | 23 |
12 | Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:24.394 | +1.573 | 19 |
13 | Webber | Red Bull | 1:24.546 | +1.725 | 24 |
14 | di Resta | Force India | 1:24.559 | +1.738 | 22 |
15 | Vettel | Red Bull | 1:24.608 | +1.787 | 25 |
16 | Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:25.354 | +2.533 | 25 |
17 | Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:25.559 | +2.738 | 27 |
18 | Bianchi | Force India | 1:25.715 | +2.894 | 26 |
19 | Petrov | Caterham F1 | 1:26.440 | +3.619 | 27 |
20 | Pic | Marussia Virgin | 1:26.705 | +3.884 | 23 |
21 | Kovalainen | Caterham F1 | 1:26.755 | +3.934 | 28 |
22 | Glock | Marussia Virgin | 1:27.015 | +4.194 | 24 |
23 | De la Rosa | HRT | 1:27.101 | +4.280 | 21 |
24 | Clos | HRT | 1:28.176 | +5.355 | 24 |
