Daniel Ricciardo used his heavily updated Red Bull to good effect by setting the quickest time in Practice 1 for the Hungarian Grand Prix, beating Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari by a quarter of a second.
The Australian’s 1:18.486s was less than half a tenth off the all-time lap record at the Hungaroring, set by Rubens Barrichello in 2004, which on a dusty, gripless track in first practice is a seriously impressive pace with evolution likely to see another two or three seconds of improvement in lap time by qualifying.
Ricciardo’s time came on the second of two consecutive flying laps on the supersoft tyres, having used the slower soft compound in the first 40 minutes and he would use that extra grip to move ahead with 20 minutes to go.
Raikkonen’s best time came a few minutes later as he moved ahead of initial leader Lewis Hamilton, with the Briton slipping to third in his Mercedes as Max Verstappen backed up Red Bull’s pace by beating Valtteri Bottas into fourth by less than a tenth of a second.
Sebastian Vettel was one of several drivers to have an early spin and would lose a part of the floor over the kerbs later on as the German had a muted session in sixth, a second off the pace.
McLaren and Renault signalled they could well maximise the lack of power sensitivity around the Hungaroring by filling positions 7-10. Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne were less than two-hundredths apart in seventh and eighth, 1.5 seconds behind Ricciardo.Nico Hulkenberg a further tenth behind in ninth with teammate Jolyon Palmer 10th, despite causing a late red flag after his front wing and bodywork failed under the vibrations of running wide over the exit kerb at Turn 4.
Nico Hulkenberg was a further tenth behind in ninth with teammate Jolyon Palmer 10th, despite causing a late red flag after his front wing and bodywork failed under the vibrations of running wide over the exit kerb at Turn 4.
Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez were 11th and 12th, as the usual midfield leaders this season waited in the wings, with the two Toro Rosso’s of Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz 13th and 14th.
Lance Stroll came 15th ahead of Romain Grosjean, who gently hit the wall at Turn 9 after sliding off early on in the Haas. The small amount of damage was soon fixed but then yet more brake issues would impact his later runs.
The American team would have an issue across the garage too, as Ferrari third driver Antonio Giovinazzi, in his second consecutive Practice 1 appearance, would crash heavily at Turn 11 after losing control at the high-speed right-hander and slid sideways into the barrier causing a red flag just half an hour into the session.
Force India development driver Alfonso Celis came 17th with the Sauber’s, despite significant upgrades, still well off the pace of the midfield with Marcus Ericsson 18th and Pascal Wehrlein 20th.
