The Formula 1 circus has pitched its tents at the Hungaroring for the third race of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The first practice session at the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix was headed by Lewis Hamilton as he led a Mercedes 1-2 again.
The ninety-minute long free practice session started under overcast skies with the air temperature at 19 degrees C and the track temperature at 26 degrees C.
The Pirelli tyre choice at this race is the white-striped hard compound tyres (C2), yellow-striped medium compound tyres (C3), and red-striped soft compound tyres (C4).
Robert Kubica was driving for Alfa Romeo Racing in place of Kimi Räikkönen in this practice session. Pierre Gasly did not set a time as he had a power unit issue that kept him in the garage.
Lando Norris was the first driver to exit the pit lane when the lights went green and the session started. The Briton reported a slight drizzle at some spots on the track.
Hamilton was in top form at a track at which he has dominated and ended the session on top of the time charts with a lap time of 1m16.003s. Valtteri Bottas was in second position, a mere 0.086 seconds behind his team-mate Hamilton.
Sergio Pérez was 0.527 seconds behind in third position. Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 5 positions.
The fastest lap time of Hamilton was set on the hard compound tyres and Bottas on the medium compound tyres. That the two Mercedes drivers were so far ahead of the competition on the harder compound tyres is an ominous sign for the weekend.
The two Ferrari drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, were in sixth and seventh position more than 1.2 seconds behind Hamilton. Max Verstappen was in a rather unhappy eighth position with his team-mate Alexander Albon further back in thirteenth position.
Norris and Esteban Ocon rounded off the top 10 positions after a subdued first session at the Hungaroring. The threat of rain hangs heavily over the second practice session this afternoon.
Pos | No | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:16.003 | 37 | |
2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 01:16.089 | +0.086s | 37 |
3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 01:16.530 | +0.527s | 20 |
4 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 01:16.967 | +0.964s | 35 |
5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 01:17.200 | +1.197s | 28 |
6 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 01:17.238 | +1.235s | 26 |
7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 01:17.404 | +1.401s | 29 |
8 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 01:17.435 | +1.432s | 28 |
9 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 01:17.523 | +1.520s | 26 |
10 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 01:17.615 | +1.612s | 35 |
11 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 01:17.675 | +1.672s | 32 |
12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 01:17.713 | +1.710s | 35 |
13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing Honda | 01:17.727 | +1.724s | 28 |
14 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 01:17.890 | +1.887s | 35 |
15 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 01:17.969 | +1.966s | 31 |
16 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri Honda | 01:18.292 | +2.289s | 35 |
17 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 01:18.425 | +2.422s | 30 |
18 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 01:18.574 | +2.571s | 29 |
19 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 01:19.150 | +3.147s | 26 |