Lewis Hamilton stayed on top in the second practice session at the Hungaroring but this time the Red Bulls were his closest challengers.
Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo ended the session within half a second of Hamilton’s best time, relegating Nico Rosberg to fourth place.
However the session did not go entirely to plan for Red Bull. Ricciardo’s RB11 came to a stop with less than half an hour to go in a plume of smoke which suggested another Renault power unit problem was to blame.
Track temperatures exceeded 50C during the session which made for slippery track conditions. Among the drivers to spin were Romain Grosjean and Sebastian Vettel – the latter losing his Ferrari twice.
Kimi Raikkonen was back on track following his front wing failure in first practice and put his Ferrari in the top five. The two red cars were separated by Carlos Sainz Jnr’s Toro Rosso, with Fernando Alonso a strong eighth for McLaren.
Neither Force India ran during the session as the team continues to investigate the problem which caused Sergio Perez’s crash and roll in first practice.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’23.949 | 36 | |
| 2 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull-Renault | 1’24.300 | 0.351 | 29 |
| 3 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’24.451 | 0.502 | 16 |
| 4 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’24.668 | 0.719 | 34 |
| 5 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’25.134 | 1.185 | 30 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’25.599 | 1.650 | 37 |
| 7 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’25.660 | 1.711 | 26 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 1’25.752 | 1.803 | 31 |
| 9 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’25.881 | 1.932 | 35 |
| 10 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’25.920 | 1.971 | 31 |
| 11 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’25.935 | 1.986 | 19 |
| 12 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Honda | 1’25.994 | 2.045 | 32 |
| 13 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Mercedes | 1’26.090 | 2.141 | 36 |
| 14 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’26.379 | 2.430 | 36 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Mercedes | 1’26.442 | 2.493 | 39 |
| 16 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’26.831 | 2.882 | 29 |
| 17 | 98 | Roberto Merhi | Manor-Ferrari | 1’29.113 | 5.164 | 29 |
| 18 | 28 | Will Stevens | Manor-Ferrari | 1’29.115 | 5.166 | 28 |
Second practice visual gaps
Lewis Hamilton – 1’23.949
+0.351 Daniil Kvyat – 1’24.300
+0.502 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’24.451
+0.719 Nico Rosberg – 1’24.668
+1.185 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’25.134
+1.650 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’25.599
+1.711 Sebastian Vettel – 1’25.660
+1.803 Fernando Alonso – 1’25.752
+1.932 Valtteri Bottas – 1’25.881
+1.971 Felipe Massa – 1’25.920
+1.986 Max Verstappen – 1’25.935
+2.141 Pastor Maldonado – 1’26.090
+2.430 Felipe Nasr – 1’26.379
+2.493 Romain Grosjean – 1’26.442
+2.882 Marcus Ericsson – 1’26.831
+5.164 Roberto Merhi – 1’29.113
+5.166 Will Stevens – 1’29.115
2015 Hungarian Grand Prix
- Vettel wins Driver of the Weekend for third time
- Hungary rated fifth-best race since 2008
- 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix team radio transcript
- Top ten pictures from the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix
- Vote for your Hungarian GP Driver of the Weekend
2015 F1 practice sessions
- Errors leave Hamilton behind Rosberg in final practice
- Rosberg edges Hamilton in second practice
- Mercedes comfortably ahead in first practice
- Two stoppages can’t keep Hamilton from top spot
- Mercedes wrap up Friday practice with almost a second in hand
Uzair Syed (@ultimateuzair)
24th July 2015, 14:35
Is Rosberg sandbagging or is he really that slow?
Tyler (@tdog)
24th July 2015, 14:41
Fortunately it’s not Ricciardo’s race engine so no grid penalty arising from it’s failure.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th July 2015, 14:45
Tought weekend for Force India ! Not only they missed one session after a serious problem, but their direct competitor is enjoying its best weekend since 2013! It was expected given this will probably be Red Bull’s strongest weekend of the year, but still…
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
24th July 2015, 14:48
I was thinking, if Hamilton wins on sunday is this the first track where he is the sole record holder of most wins?
David-A (@david-a)
24th July 2015, 14:53
Nope, there’s China and Russia.
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
24th July 2015, 15:23
@david-a Even COTA
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
25th July 2015, 7:21
@david-a Thanks, although let’s not count Sochi yet, but COTA sure is one I forgot. I though about China but didn’t check it.
mfreire
24th July 2015, 16:44
No, Schumacher and Magny Cours (8 wins there)
HamiltonNumber1
24th July 2015, 18:15
Think he means Hamilton’s most wins it will either be 4 or 5 if he wins Hunggary his most i think.
David-A (@david-a)
24th July 2015, 18:53
@mfreire That’s not what was being asked.
John H (@john-h)
24th July 2015, 20:04
Yes, that’s correct. He’ll have 5 to schumacher’s 4, which for an historic race is quite an achievement.
Speaking purely from a GP4 perspective, but the hungaroring is really a track where a driver can make a difference on the kerbs and with braking.
John H (@john-h)
24th July 2015, 20:06
Ok, lets say on tracks with 20 years or more history on the calendar. CoTA and Sochi don’t really count yet :)
RL
24th July 2015, 14:50
I know its more complicated than this but the hot temps aren’t necessarily propelling Ferrari to the top of the timesheets
sato113 (@sato113)
24th July 2015, 14:57
well it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Alex de Brito (@corix)
24th July 2015, 15:04
Merhi is looking strong this weekend. He’s a bit faster than Stevens even tough he didn’t run the first practice.
On the other news, does anyone know if that Williams new front wing is really being used this weekend and who’s running it?
paul
24th July 2015, 15:38
Bottas
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
24th July 2015, 15:26
I can’t help but feel Lotus are going very quickly backwards. They could barely get their tyres for this race. If Renault does not step in, I think Lotus will struggle to make it to the final race of the season.
Todfod (@todfod)
24th July 2015, 15:42
Good to see the Red Bulls doing so well. I’m hoping they outqualify the Ferraris on Saturday… would be good to see Ricciardo and Vettel battle each other.
Also Lotus and Sauber looking really slow this weekend. Mclaren actually looked quicker than both of them today. Points finish should be on for Mclaren considering Lotus and Sauber haven’t found their rhythm yet and Force India missed FP2.
Ron (@rcorporon)
24th July 2015, 16:01
Go RBR. Hope they keep the pace and challenge Ferrari this weekend.
iFelix (@ifelix)
24th July 2015, 17:28
What’s up with Vettel? He has been slower than Kimi in both sessions!
Ian Bond (@ianbond001)
24th July 2015, 18:48
Looks like McLaren is ahead of Sauber and lotus (i’m guessing ForceIndia also) and on par with wiliams and tottorosso. Hope it is real; never been a McLaren fan but it is was excruciating to watch them this year.