Gasly tops Verstappen and Hamilton in the dry before rain arrives; Hamilton impresses on hardest tyre; Albon crashes Toro Rosso
Friday 2 August 2019 18:38, UK
Pierre Gasly headed a Red Bull one-two in second practice at the Hungarian GP - but afternoon rain ensures there are more questions than answers heading into F1's final weekend before its summer break.
In the brief window of dry running that did take place in P2 before the rain came down, Gasly took the soft tyres to fastest time of 1:17.854 to pip team-mate Max Verstappen, on the slower mediums, by 0.055s.
But, tyre corrected, it was world championship leader Lewis Hamilton who truly ended Friday with the standout effort after lapping just 0.141s slower than Gasly on the hardest tyres available.
Hamilton finished third fastest, having earlier set the outright pace in Practice One with what stood as Friday's quickest lap.
Valtteri Bottas was fourth quickest in the second Mercedes after returning to the track after an engine swap had sidelined him in P1. But the Finn's running was limited by the later rain, which steadily increased in intensity.
Toro Rosso's Alex Albon, so impressive en-route to a career-best sixth last Sunday at Hockenheim, crashed heavily at the final corner in the opening minutes of P1 after losing control of his car when he put a wheel on the grass.
The London-born Thai driver was unhurt in the incident and was given the all-clear by F1's medical centre after routine checks.
While Red Bull and Mercedes immediately looked on the pace around the twisty Hungaroring on Friday, Ferrari's form was harder to read. Charles Leclerc was only seventh fastest in the afternoon session, with Sebastian Vettel down in 13th, although both only completed a handful of laps in the dry.
What did F1 learn from Friday?
In Friday morning's more representative opening session, less than two tenths of a second had covered Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari around one of F1's slowest and shortest laps - and the prospect of another three-team fight for honours appears genuine.
"We seem to be competitive, I still expect Mercedes to be a little bit ahead of us but [Saturday] will be an interesting day," Verstappen told Sky Sports.
"It's all pretty close."
Gasly, in desperate need of a strong weekend after a tough German GP, agreed: "Mercedes are really fast. Ferrari didn't really show their full pace but we know Ferrari, we know they are going to be there. It's going to be close."
Saturday's forecast in Budapest offers up the prospect of more showers and, although conditions appear set fare for Sunday's race day, the lack of long-run data gathered by teams on Friday increases the chances of unpredictability.
Friday, August 2
3.50pm: F2 Qualifying
4.30pm: Hungarian GP: Story So Far
Saturday, August 3
7.55am: F3 Qualifying
9am: F2 Race One
10.45am: Hungarian GP Practice Three Build-up
11am: Hungarian GP Practice Three
12.10pm: Paddock Walkabout
1pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying Build-up
2pm: HUNGARIAN GP QUALIFYING
3.30pm: The F1 Show
3.45pm: F3 Race One - Live on Red Button
4pm: F3 Race One
Sunday, August 4
8.55am: F3 Race Two (Simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event)
10.15am: F2 Race Two
10.30pm (Sky One): The F1 Show
11.40am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Hungarian GP: Pit Lane Live
1,30pm: Hungarian GP: On The Grid
2.10pm: THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX LIVE! (Simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event)
4pm: Hungarian GP Paddock Live
5.30pm: Hungarian GP Highlights
6.30pm: Hungarian GP Best Bits
7pm: Hungarian GP Race Rerun
Don't miss the next instalment of F1 2019 at the Hungarian GP this weekend on Sky Sports F1 - the final race before the summer break. Find out how to watch all the 2019 season live.
