In a session interrupted by Charles Leclerc’s crash, Red Bull seems to be back in form with their race pace, but Norris is always there Sainz is falling behind
During this afternoon’s FP2 session, Charles Leclerc’s red flag altered the teams’ plans. In fact, the approximately fifteen-minute suspension took valuable time away from the drivers as they sought the best setup for the race. The Hungaroring circuit offers few overtaking opportunities, so finding the right setup for a single lap will be very important as well. Moreover, Alpine drivers, Nico Hulkenberg, Yuki Tsunoda, and Valtteri Bottas even chose to sacrifice a significant portion of their race simulation, opting for a second attempt at a qualifying simulation instead.
We’ve mentioned that the Hungaroring offers few overtaking opportunities: one of the variables to consider will therefore be traffic, in the case of an early pit stop. However, tyre degradation must also be taken into account, which could be significant due to the high temperatures. This was also noted by McLaren’s Team Principal, Andrea Stella, at the end of FP1: ‘It is really very hot; it is a challenge to cool the car, and for the drivers, it is a challenge to keep the tires within a reasonable operating range.
FP2 Hungary Race Pace Analysis: Here are the times from this afternoon!
In the qualifying simulation, the fastest was Lando Norris with an excellent time of 1:17.788, the only driver to break into the 17s. Just under two and a half tenths behind is Max Verstappen, who, as shown in recent races, often has an edge over the McLaren driver in the race. Third was Carlos Sainz, who was unable to replicate his morning performance, while Leclerc ended his session in the barriers between corners 4 and 5, 15 minutes into the session.
As for the race simulation, surprisingly, Red Bull appeared to be the fastest car. Max Verstappen was able to consistently lap in the low 24s, with a best time of 1:24.005 recorded on his final lap, indicating that the tires still had performance left.
Surprisingly, although we don’t know the fuel loads, Sergio Perez was faster than him. The Mexican driver, who is increasingly at risk of losing his seat, sent a strong message by consistently lapping quicker than Verstappen and even recording some laps in the 1:23s.
Lando Norris’s race simulation was also very solid. He opted for the harder compound tires, unlike the mediums used by the two Red Bulls. The British driver lapped within a tenth of a second for five consecutive laps before increasing his times by half a second, mainly due to traffic caused by Fernando Alonso.
Excellent times also for Mercedes, which is dramatically seeking a third consecutive victory. George Russell lapped at times similar to Norris and the Red Bulls, although he experienced some tire degradation in the later laps. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, likely with a higher fuel load, managed to lap in the high 1:24s until the checkered flag of the session.
For Ferrari, we only have Carlos Sainz’s data: the Spanish driver confirmed the team’s difficulties with the medium tires, as his times suddenly increased by half a second after just 6 laps.
Also worth highlighting is the situation at Aston Martin: it seems that the significant updates tested during the filming day at Silverstone and introduced for the first time here in Hungary did not deliver the expected results. In the qualifying simulation, Fernando Alonso was only tenth, while in the race simulation he consistently lapped in the 1:25s, a second per lap slower than Lando Norris.
PHOTO: Mercedes AMG F1 Team, Max Verstappen, GPKingdom
