Hungarian Grand Prix: Free Practice 2: Norris beats Verstappen and Sainz

At 5:00 p.m., the green lights come on for the second and final free practice session of the day. The majority of the drivers start the session with medium tires for their first flying laps, except for the two McLarens, equipped with hard tires with white stripes.

From the beginning of the session, problems appear for some drivers, notably Max Verstappen, who reports brake issues with his Red Bull over the radio, mentioning a lack of bite and pressure.

Different setups at Red Bull.

Like the previous weekend at Silverstone, the Red Bulls arrive with two car configurations: Sergio Perez uses the old model, while Verstappen has the latest upgrades regarding the front wing and bodywork. Despite this, both Red Bulls dominate the first half-hour of the session, with Perez ahead of his teammate, highlighting the efficiency of the car in all configurations.

Charles Leclerc’s accident

Seventeen minutes after the start of the session, Charles Leclerc loses control of his Ferrari on the kerb of turn 4. The rear of the car slides out, damaging the front wing and the beam-wing, this appendix that connects the rear wing and the diffuser. The accident leaves numerous debris on the track, forcing the FIA to wave the red flag. The Monegasque cannot continue, leaving Carlos Sainz the task of completing the team’s program alone.

After ten minutes of interruption, the drivers return to the track. According to James Vowles from Williams, all the drivers come out on soft tyres, starting with the Mercedes of Russell and Hamilton, followed by the Ferrari of Sainz, in order to prepare for the qualifications with some timed laps.

Mercedes secured the top two times, with Russell outpacing Hamilton by 69 milliseconds. Guanyu Zhou lost control of his single-seater at the same turn as Leclerc and narrowly avoided hitting Perez’s Red Bull. Piastri ran wide into the grass at turn 4, damaging the floor of his car and forcing him to spend a few minutes in the pits. The high temperatures (31°C in the air, 47°C on the track) are making it tough for the drivers, leading to oversteer and making it challenging to complete two consecutive laps on soft tires.

After the attack runs, the drivers focused on Grand Prix stints with different types of tires: Norris on hards, Hamilton on softs, and Verstappen on mediums. In terms of race pace, Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren appear to be the fastest, while Ferrari is estimated to be six-tenths behind.

Lando Norris finishes on top of the session, followed by Verstappen and Sainz. Perez is in 4th place, ahead of Hamilton and Magnussen. Hamilton, Ricciardo, Albon, and Alonso complete the top 10. As for French drivers, Ocon is in 14th place and Gasly in 16th.