Lewis Hamilton put one Mercedes on top in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but the other W10 failed to set a time during the opening session at the Hungaroring.
Valtteri Bottas was confined to the pits after Mercedes detected a problem with his power unit just two laps into the session. The team were unable to trace the exact cause of the fault and decided to switch Bottas back to an earlier specification of engine.Light rain made for tricky conditions at the start of the session. Hamilton swapped fastest times with Max Verstappen initially, ending up comfortably on top with a 1’17.233.
Verstappen spun twice on his way to the second-fastest time. On both occasions he lost control of his car at the exit of a corner once at turn 14 and later at turn 12, and he advised the team on the radio he was struggling with rear-end instability.
Nonetheless Verstappen edged Vettel for the second-fastest time by one-thousandth of a second. That left three different cars covered by a mere 0.166 seconds at the top of the times.
Pierre Gasly put the second Red Bull inside the top five ahead of Kevin Magnussen. The Haas driver put in a solid showing in the updated Haas while Romain Grosjean reported a lack of downforce in the old-specification VF-19.
Charles Leclerc was less happy with his Ferrari than his team mate and ended the session almost eight-tenths of a second behind Vettel. Nico Hulkenberg led the McLaren pair and Kimi Raikkonen put his Alfa Romeo inside the top 10.
Both Racing Point drivers had spins during the session. Lance Stroll lost control of his car at the exit of the chicane at turn seven, while Sergio Perez managed a half-spin while bringing his RP19 up to speed a few corners later. Stroll ended the session 18th, fractionally slower than George Russell’s Williams.
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| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’17.233 | 41 | |
| 2 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’17.398 | 0.165 | 28 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’17.399 | 0.166 | 25 |
| 4 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull-Honda | 1’17.682 | 0.449 | 25 |
| 5 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’17.942 | 0.709 | 31 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’18.188 | 0.955 | 29 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’18.417 | 1.184 | 31 |
| 8 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’18.531 | 1.298 | 34 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’18.702 | 1.469 | 23 |
| 10 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’18.787 | 1.554 | 32 |
| 11 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’18.894 | 1.661 | 30 |
| 12 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’18.973 | 1.740 | 32 |
| 13 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’18.982 | 1.749 | 33 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’19.223 | 1.990 | 28 |
| 15 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’19.325 | 2.092 | 20 |
| 16 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’19.488 | 2.255 | 24 |
| 17 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’19.649 | 2.416 | 33 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’19.722 | 2.489 | 34 |
| 19 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 1’20.322 | 3.089 | 30 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes |
First practice visual gaps
Lewis Hamilton – 1’17.233
+0.165 Max Verstappen – 1’17.398
+0.166 Sebastian Vettel – 1’17.399
+0.449 Pierre Gasly – 1’17.682
+0.709 Kevin Magnussen – 1’17.942
+0.955 Charles Leclerc – 1’18.188
+1.184 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’18.417
+1.298 Lando Norris – 1’18.531
+1.469 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’18.702
+1.554 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’18.787
+1.661 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’18.894
+1.740 Romain Grosjean – 1’18.973
+1.749 Daniil Kvyat – 1’18.982
+1.990 Alexander Albon – 1’19.223
+2.092 Sergio Perez – 1’19.325
+2.255 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’19.488
+2.416 George Russell – 1’19.649
+2.489 Lance Stroll – 1’19.722
+3.089 Robert Kubica – 1’20.322
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
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2019 Hungarian Grand Prix
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Moi
2nd August 2019, 11:41
Leclerc on different tires or something? Gap seems too large
AUSKPY
2nd August 2019, 11:44
He’s probably testing Ferrari “upgrades”.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
2nd August 2019, 11:49
It’s the midseason, so yeah, sounds legit :)
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
2nd August 2019, 12:35
He was testing new ‘revised bargeboard and sidepod deflector package’.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
2nd August 2019, 11:47
Any idea why Kubica is so much off Russell? Different run plan, differential setups, or something else?
KMag in the new spec Haas beating Grosjean in the old spec by a handsome margin. It’ll be interesting to see if they continue running Grosjean on the old spec for Sat/Sun.
Philip (@philipgb)
2nd August 2019, 12:39
Probably waiting for him to bin it and destroy the car before putting new parts on, may as well get the most out of the components
Toxic
2nd August 2019, 13:04
He has the old spec car while Russel has the new spec. They’re doing comparison testing.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
2nd August 2019, 13:10
Thank you, Toxic and @reh1v2-0
Promising indeed for Williams if their German GP upgrade has made such a difference.
Adub Smallblock
2nd August 2019, 14:07
Because – Kubica
CC
2nd August 2019, 12:08
Good to see Hamilton doing less laps to preserve his engine.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
2nd August 2019, 12:16
All teams often run PU components on Friday that are unlikely to see another race (unless a race PU blows).
Given we’re halfway through the season, and given when Mercedes brought their PU upgrade, it is reasonable to assume he’s running the old engine.
James Neutron (@phillyspur)
2nd August 2019, 13:35
He thought he was being so clever with his post and you went and ruined it. Additionally since they only had one car in the session he had to make up for the missed laps by Bottas.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
2nd August 2019, 13:39
@phillyspur – that’s me, the killjoy :)
Good point about Bottas not running that might have led them to run more laps for data.
Srdjan Mandic (@srga91)
2nd August 2019, 12:19
He ran wide at T12 and had a horrible final corner. Before that he was 0.16 behind Vettel.
GeeMac (@geemac)
2nd August 2019, 12:39
Russell’s pace was promising…he’s only 0.3 off of the quicker Racing Point.
CareyPatrick (@careypatrick)
2nd August 2019, 13:04
Williams definitely seem to have clawed back about 1 sec/lap. Only 1 more and they can compete in the midfield. They were about 4sec off at the beginning, now only 2.5 for RUS and 3.0 for KUB, a definite improvement.
Duncan Snowden
2nd August 2019, 17:28
If Keith was after a sensational tabloid headline here: “Russell ahead of German GP leader in FP1”. :)
AUSKPY
2nd August 2019, 12:45
I want to see a total HAM domination P1 40sec ahead of P2 on Sunday. Just to remind the casual plebs once again about the real state of this sport.
We’ve been spoiled by meme races because of the weather conditions in Austria and Germany.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
2nd August 2019, 13:55
Seb got some confidence back. We can either expect a good result or another crash.
Heiden (@heidenh)
2nd August 2019, 17:35
Wants to retire the car to save the engine mileage for a few laps. Puts in the most laps during practice.
Nothing bad about practicing, just seems counter intuitive.
Anthony
2nd August 2019, 20:21
Bottas didn’t get any running, and the engine used in FP1 will be an old one. But whatever, don’t let facts stop the hate.
Heiden (@heidenh)
2nd August 2019, 22:51
By simple facts, not assumptions. Hamilton ran 7 laps more(28.098KM) than ‘anybody’ else’s highest lap count/mileage for FP1.
I’m not saying it’s bad, It’s just contrary to his radio transmission. Which leaves me to ‘confused observation’, not hate.
Whatever Bottas and his engine arrangement has to do with Hamilton’s running isn’t necessarily relevant.