Charles Leclerc replaced Esteban Gutierrez for first practice at the Hungaroring on Friday, and was grateful to get more mileage in a Formula 1 car following previous ventures with Haas and Scuderia Ferrari at Silverstone two weeks ago.
The Monegasque driver completed twenty-two laps of the Hungarian circuit during his outing with the Haas F1 Team on Friday morning, finishing sixteenth quickest despite a couple of spins.
His best time of 1:25.181 was 1.168 seconds slower than regular race driver Romain Grosjean, but Leclerc was happy to get some valuable experience on Friday, especially when it came to adapting to the different Pirelli tyre compounds the team fitted to his car.
“It’s great to get more mileage and build my confidence in a Formula One car,” said Leclerc. “I jumped from running medium tires up to Supersofts straight this morning, which was quite a big step.
“I had to adapt, but it was good for my experience to feel the difference in these tires. It certainly helps me to know more about the car. We did quite a few laps on the Supersofts.
“Overall, it was a good session. I’m happy. I hope what I achieved has been useful for the team.”
