The second session of the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix weekend was a much more representative 60 minutes. With the rookie drivers out and all of our regular drivers in, FP2 allowed the grid to build upon things learnt in the morning. For some teams, this was fixing mistakes.
One Session Behind
A select few of the drivers stood aside during the morning session to allow development drivers a chance to drive. For championship leader Kimi Antonelli, free practice 2 was an important session for him. The 19-year-old wasted no time heading out to the circuit, with his first time on the medium compound not quite hitting where he’d want it.
A dusty circuit added to the difficult around this already technical circuit. Antonelli enters Hungary deep within a tight championship battle. Also making up for lost time was Oscar Piastri, who initially struggled to get going during FP2. The Aussie had a close call coming into turn 11, taking it very wide and running off the circuit entirely.
Lando Norris, with 60 minutes already under his belt today, set the pace for his teammate to match. As the first set of timed laps emerged, Norris continued to improve, setting the time screens purple through the middle sector.
Ferrari Start Friday On Top
The morning session was topped by Charles Leclerc, who finished ahead of his teammate in P3. The Scarlett Ferrari continued to show its raw pace and handling around the Hungaroring during the afternoon session. On the medium tyres the Ferrari duo sat unbeaten during the first part of fp2, finding time on every lap they drove.
Lewis Hamilton is one of the many drivers who have had incredible success around this circuit. He still holds the lap record around the circuit, set during his 2020 season with Mercedes AMG Petronas. His experience shines bright, as he sat comfortably in P1 for a large part of the second free practice session.
Max Verstappen was the only driver to come between the Ferrari duo in the morning. FP2 saw the Dutchman join them once more during the first half of the session. His teammate Isack Hadjar on the other half seemed to struggle initially, leaving the circuit on multiple occasions.
Problems Persist Across the Grid
Lance Stroll suffered a difficult end to his first practice session with a suspension issue. While the other 21 drivers headed out for FP2, stroll remained in garage, car surrounded by mechanics. Until the issue, the Aston Martin showed promising pace, so the team used the afternoon to fix the issue.
With about 30 minutes of the session remaining, Franco Colapinto found himself in the wall, after losing rear traction into the final corner. The incident immediately brought out the red flag, with the Alpine needing to be removed. Colapinto let the team know he was okay, driving away in the medical car.
Colapintos crash came at a moment where traction and grip concerned most of the teams. He wasn’t the only driver to have problems with tyre grip, but became the first to fall victim.
Session Resumes for Soft Runners
When the green flag came out once again, the man to beat was Lando Norris, who shot to P1 after a run on the soft tyre compound. Trying to match the pace was Antonelli, who initially was unable to keep the car in control. Following the pattern displayed by most of the grid, he found his lap time deleted again.
Norris’ time was once again shattered by the Ferrari duo. Hamilton returned to the top going 0.148 seconds quicker than Leclerc, but vitally, 0.499 seconds faster than Norris. The gap between the Ferrari and the rest of the grid suggest that they will be the target this weekend.
Concern came briefly from the 4-time world champion, after Verstappen commented something wrong with his front wing. Replays showed him coming into contact with debris, raising the concern. While no damage was present on his car, the Dutchman was less than impressed.
“My rear axel is again, completely locked and super stiff. I think I have a problem, like I’m just having no rear grip” – Max Verstappen
Final Push to the Line
A brief moment of tension came between Nico Hulkenberg and Arvid Lindblad, where the two went wheel to wheel through turn three. Lindblad eventually conceded, allowing the German past despite his teams wishes to remain out of dirty air. With the circuit getting busier, the drivers found themselves in race-like conditions.
Being able to follow other drivers closely around the circuit, the final minutes of FP2 were spent simulating race conditions, to provide useful data for the teams. This meant that no times were improved, ending the session with a Ferrari 1-2.
Norris and Verstappen remained behind them, with still a considerable gap. George Russell had a quiet session, unlike his teammate, and finished P5. His teammate Antonelli was unable to get a soft tyre run that wasn’t deleted, so concludes Friday P13.
Fernando Alonso ended FP2 in a car that looked almost unrecognisable. The Aston Martin sat covered in flow vis paint, to provide data for the numerous new complements added to the car. While struggling for the entire season, he ended this afternoons session in P19.