4 Things learned on the first day of Hungarian F1 practice

The first day of practice for the last Grand Prix race before the summer break is done and dusted. The weather around the Hungaroring track, which is the venue as usual for the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix, was hot and sunny.

Four things learned on first day of Hungarian F1 GP practice

1. Ferrari was quickest in both free practice sessions today, with Carlos Sainz topping FP1 and Charles Leclerc going fastest in FP2. On both occasions, they used the P Zero Red soft tyre.
2. Conditions today were dry and warm: just slightly cooler than last weekend in France. However, tomorrow will be very different, with heavy rain expected for both FP3 and qualifying.
3. All three compounds were used today quite extensively, with the soft tyre used mostly throughout both sessions. Second-fastest in FP2 was McLaren’s Lando Norris – with his team mate Daniel Ricciardo classified fifth in the session to complete a strong afternoon for the team.
4. There’s currently an estimated gap of around 0.9 seconds between the P Zero White hard and the P Zero Yellow medium, and about 0.6 seconds between the medium and soft. This latter gap in particular will evolve according to track temperatures, with cooler conditions favouring the soft.

Pirelli's Motorsport Director - Mario Isola comments about today

“With the expected degree of track evolution today, we’ve already seen some quick times that would perhaps have eventually beaten the qualifying simulation tomorrow. But with heavy rain forecast for Saturday, this will probably remain hypothetical. With cooler temperatures expected on Sunday, this could also be one of the reasons why we saw a lot of running on the soft tyre today, which might become a valid option for the race.

The cooler the weather becomes, the more that the additional grip of the soft tyre comes into its own. However, this has to be offset against the mechanical demands on the tyre at this circuit, especially with the cars on full fuel at the start of the race. There was more wear than expected on the hard tyre today, due to some sliding, while the medium and soft performed well for these conditions. As a result of the changing weather, the teams face some complex strategic decisions over the next couple of days.”

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