Share

Gasly tops times after rain hits 2nd Hungary practice

Budapest - Pierre Gasly topped the times ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen in Friday afternoon's rain-abbreviated second free practice ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Frenchman recorded a best lap in one minute and 17.854 seconds to outpace the Dutchman by 0.053 seconds, the lap times all set in the opening half hour of a desultory 90-minutes session.

Defending five-time champion Lewis Hamilton was third ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas who ran using a fresh engine after changing units following a misfire that prevented him taking part in the morning opening session topped by the Briton.

Daniel Ricciardo was fifth for Renault ahead of Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, Nico Hulkenberg in the second Renault and Antonio Giovinazzi in the second Alfa. Daniil Kvyat was 10th for Toro Rosso.

"Not much to learn from that," said Gasly afterwards. "We were strong in both sessions in wet and dry conditions and I am happy with the car and what we achieved. It's good to have done this much work in such unpredictable conditions."

A rain shower shortly before the session left the track in a slightly greasy and challenging condition for the drivers as the air temperature fell to 23 degrees Celsius and the track to 32 degrees.

Bottas was first out, his Mercedes fitted with a new engine from his pool of units, to lead the way ahead of his team-mate Hamilton.

The Finn was soon on top of the times before Alex Albon lost control of his Toro Rosso at the final corner, after running his left wheels on the grass. The session was red-flagged and halted for five minutes after his car slid heavily into the barriers and was damaged.

The Thai driver was unhurt and climbed out of the cockpit before his car was lifted to safety by a crane and the session continued.

After Bottas, Hamilton, on hards, Verstappen, on mediums, and Gasly, on softs, set quickest laps until the rain intensified forcing everyone to withdraw to their garages.

This created a total lull for more than half an hour before, after steady rain, the track was sufficiently wet for the teams to fit intermediates for the final part of the session and use it for wet conditions practice.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Glasgow Warriors 21
Sharks 10
loading... Live
Titans RSA 155/8
Lions 154/8
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1778 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE