Friday Report - Raining and waiting

By Dan Knutson

Rain in Free Practice 2 for the Hungarian Grand Prix kept many of the drivers waiting in the pits for the first half session. When they finally took to the track it was Sebastian Vettel who posted the fastest lap.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari – Vettel and Charles Leclerc; Red Bull Honda – Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon; McLaren Renault – Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Renault – Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon; AlphaTauri Honda – Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly; Racing Point Mercedes – Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Haas Ferrari – Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Williams Mercedes – George Russell and Nicolas Latifi.

Hamilton clocked the fastest lap time in Free Practice 1 – 1:16.003. His Mercedes teammate Bottas was second in FP1, while the “Pink Mercedes” Racing Point drivers Perez and Stroll rounded out the top four in the morning session.

Rain is rare during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, but it was raining when FP2 began. And rain was forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 61 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Centigrade).

“We will try to get some running in, as tomorrow there is a big chance it is raining all day long. So we need to learn without taking too many risks,” said Haas team principal Guenther Steiner.

Nobody headed out when the session began until Gasly ventured out for a single lap. The next driver on track was Perez – by now FP2 was 20 minutes old. Perez actually did a flying lap, and posted the first time of the session – 1:43.862.

Raikkonen and Stroll were the next on track. And Stroll took the lead with his 1:42.380.

Just before the halfway mark of FP2 these were the only four drivers who had left the pits. Then Ocon, on intermediate tires, joined the group…but only for one lap.

But now more drivers were out there lapping, including Vettel who took over first with a 1:41.564. He backed that up with a 1:40.464.

With 20 minutes left in FP2, the order was: Vettel, Bottas, Sainz, Stroll, Perez, Grosjean, Raikkonen, Leclerc, Giovinazzi, Norris and Kvyat – the only 11 drivers to clock a time.

In the last 15 minutes it was drying out a bit, and some of the drivers were now on the intermediates.

But nobody beat Vettel’s time, and the top 10 at the end of the rainy FP2 were: Vettel, Bottas, Sainz, Stroll, Perez, Gasly, Verstappen, Grosjean, Raikkonen and Leclerc. Giovinazzi, Norris and Kvyat were the only other drivers to clock a time.