F1 Hungarian GP: Leclerc top in FP2 ahead of Norris
29th July 2022Ferrari closed out the first day on top as Charles Leclerc finished the Hungarian second practice on top, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.
How second practice unfolded…
In a similar fashion to the opening session, earlier today, the Aston martin’s were the first cars to venture out onto the Hungarian Hungaroring with, outgoing, Sebastian Vettel at the helm of the pit exit queue. However, after a single installation lap, the two Aston Martin’s soon returned to the pit lane.
This allowed the Haas of Kevin Magnussen to fly down the pit straight to become the first driver to start a flying lap. As such, the Dane driver set the benchmark for free practice two but this was soon beaten by the the likes of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with the latter on top with a 1:20.487.
However, the Spaniards quick time was shortlived as both Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in P1 and P2 respectively.
After 15 minutes Leclerc remained at the top of the timing board, with teammate ,Sainz, just behind. This was followed by Verstappen and Perez, in P3 and P4 respectively.
Soon after, Williams’ Alexander Albon spun out – under breaking – into turn one as the London-born driver attempted to start a flying lap. The Williams’ car #23 was forced to quickly return to the pit lane as the spin had completely ruined his, red-ringed, soft-compound tyres.
Before the session reached its halfway point, Norris jumped up to the top of the timing sheets. However, a couple of minutes before the 30-minute mark, Leclerc returned to the top of the table with a 1:18.445 – 0.217 seconds faster.
Further down the field, Mercedes looked to struggle with balance for the W13 as their young Briton, George Russell, reported over the radio that he couldn’t get around turn one without locking up. This was also showcased in the timing boards as Russell sat eights and Sir Lewis Hamilton was P11.
In the dying minutes of the session, Hamilton quickly described his car ‘unstable’ as the seven-time world champion ran wide at the exit of turn six. The #44 Mercedes quickly returned to his respective garage. By the end of the session, Hamilton failed to improve his lap time and finished FP2 in P11.
Top three:
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
That’s it for the article: F1 Hungarian GP: Leclerc closes out first day on top! If bad weather plays a part tomorrow, who do you think will secure pole position for the race on Sunday? Let us know in the comments!
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