Practice 2 Report - The head scratchers

By Dan Knutson in Budapest

Pierre Gasly grabbed the fastest lap time early on in Free Practice 2 for the Hungarian Grand Prix during the few minutes that the track was dry. After that, light rain left all the drivers in limbo, and they spent most of time in the pits. McLaren summed things up in a tweet: "The weather is causing heads to be scratched up and down the pitlane at the moment, with it being too wet for slicks, but too dry for the intermediate tire." Alex Albon was the only driver to really fall afoul with the conditions when he crashed his Toro Rosso.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc; Red Bull TAG Heuer Max Verstappen and Gasly; Renault Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg; Haas Ferrari Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Racing Point Mercedes Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Toro Rosso Honda Daniil Kvyat and Albon; Williams Mercedes George Russell and Robert Kubica.

Hamilton was fastest in FP1 with a lap of 1:17.233. Vettel and Verstappen rounded out that top three in that session.

"I like the Hungaroring," said Verstappen who won the German Grand Prix a week earlier. "It's one of my favorite tracks and I'm looking forward to going there again this year. It's a very technical circuit and you really have to hit the apexes to position yourself well for each corner. It feels a bit like you're driving a big car on a small track as it's so narrow but that doesn't make it any less fun.

"My favorite corner is Turn 11, the fast right hander, and it's a nice feeling when you get it right. A good exit from the final corner is also very important as the straight is so long and you have to carry good speed into it. Budapest is a beautiful city and there is lots to do in the evenings."

Bottas, who had done only two laps in FP1 before needing the engine changed in his Mercedes, Gasly and Ricciardo were the first for FP2 out on a track that was still dry. So is was slick tires all round.

The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Centigrade). The chance of rain was 100 percent.

Heading into the final turn Albon crashed just three minutes into FP2, and that brought out the red flags.

The track was already a bit slick with the sprinkles of light rain.

"Driver error," Albon said. "I think with the track being wet - the grass being wet, as soon as I touched it, I spun. Frustrating. I'm okay."

Six minutes later the session restarted. Bottas headed outon slicks. As did Sainz and others. They were shooting for Raikkonen's time of 1:19.174, which Bottas beat with his 1:18.289 on the medium Pirelli tires.

Hamilton, on the hards, squeezed ahead at 1:18.110. Verstappen, on the mediums, took second with his 1:18.174. Then Hamilton broke the 1:18 barrier by turning a 1:17.995, only to have Verstappen top it with a 1:17.909. Then along came Gasly who clocked a 1:17.854.

The track was dry and getting faster. But not for long, as it started to rain after about 22 minutes into the session.

After 25 minutes everybody was in the pits and the top 10 were: Gasly, Verstappen, Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Giovinazzi and Kvyat.

Then Bottas donned the intermediate Pirelli rain tires and went back out there. But just for one cautious lap as did not get a chance to sample the inters in FP1. A couple of other drivers did the same. And then the silence returned.

"Very good track conditions, track is ready to go," Perez said after his lap.

But, with 50 minutes remaining, nobody was ready to go back out there.

Then McLaren sent Sainz out for one lap on the inters.

"Valtteri Bottas tried the intermediate tire earlier," Pirelli tweeted. "A shame that nobody has gone on the blue full wet yet: it's the only tire not be used so far today."

At the halfway point nobody was trying any tires at all.

Then, with 33 minutes remaining, Sainz tried a lap on the medium compound slicks. He slid off the track where there was plenty of runoff room, and made his way cautiously back to the pits.

"It's raining more than ever," Sainz radioed.

With 24 minutes remaining it was Raikkonen's turn to go out on the inters. A few other drivers thought this was a good idea. Several even did flying laps as the track finally appeared to be wet enough to use the intermediate rain tires. Pretty soon most of the drivers were circulating.

The head scratching had come to an end and, finally, so did FP2.