Hungarian GP - free practice 1: Carlos Sainz Jr leads.
Carlos Sainz Jr, driving his Ferrari, set the fastest time in the first free practice session of the Hungarian Grand Prix, marking the 13th round of the 24 in the Formula 1 World Championship. The session took place on Friday at the famous Hungaroring circuit, which is 4.381 km long and located near Budapest.
Carlos Sainz Jr’s performance.
Sainz outpaced three-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Sainz clocked a time that was 276 milliseconds faster than Verstappen and 298 milliseconds faster than Leclerc. This performance puts Scuderia Ferrari in a good position for the weekend, despite recent struggles in the last four races.
Conditions at Hungaroring.
The Hungaroring track, with temperatures nearing 60 degrees, posed a significant challenge for the drivers. Carlos Sainz set his best lap using soft tires, while Charles Leclerc opted for hard tires, demonstrating the Ferrari cars’ ability to adapt to different types of tires.
Other teams’ results.
George Russell of Mercedes secured fourth place, well ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who could only manage tenth. The surprise of the session was Zhou Guanyu of Sauber, who achieved an impressive fifth place, his best performance of the season so far.
The McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, placed sixth and seventh, respectively. Yuki Tsunoda of Racing Bulls and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin completed the top 10. Sergio Pérez of Red Bull, whose place in the team is currently uncertain, finished just outside the top 10 in eleventh place.
French drivers’ performances.
The French drivers from the Alpine team, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, faced more difficulties, finishing in 17th and 18th places, respectively, more than a second behind Sainz’s benchmark time.
Next steps.
The second free practice session is scheduled for this Friday at 17:00 (Paris time), providing another opportunity for teams to fine-tune their setups before qualifying and the race.
