2024 Hungarian GP FP1: Sainz leads Verstappen and Leclerc

Carlos Sainz set the fastest time in the opening practice session of the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, leading ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc.

The session started at 13:30 local time in sweltering conditions, with cars quickly heading out to complete early laps. Some, like Sergio Perez in the RB20, featured aero rakes to evaluate new upgrades.

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Oliver Bearman participated in his fourth FP1 session of the year for Haas, gearing up for his full-time seat with the team in 2025. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri spent the initial part of the session in the garage as McLaren addressed a technical issue.

Verstappen initially set the pace with a 1m 19.831s on soft tyres, aiming to reclaim the top podium spot after two races dominated by Mercedes.

Traffic incidents occurred, with George Russell criticising Yuki Tsunoda for not checking his mirrors after an incident with the Mercedes. Lance Stroll reported that his Aston Martin was challenging to drive, while his teammate Fernando Alonso tested numerous updates.

As times improved throughout the session, a Virtual Safety Car was briefly deployed to clear debris at Turn 12, likely from Alex Albon’s Williams.

Ferrari showed a strong performance, with Sainz and Leclerc leading the timesheets with 20 minutes remaining. However, Leclerc struggled at Turn 12, indicating he wasn’t as comfortable as Sainz.

Despite a flurry of late laps, Sainz’s best time of 1m 18.713s remained unbeaten, putting him 0.276s ahead of Verstappen, with Leclerc in third and Russell fourth.

Zhou Guanyu impressed in fifth for Kick Sauber, despite losing some bodywork earlier. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Piastri followed in sixth and seventh.

Tsunoda secured eighth place, while Stroll and Lewis Hamilton completed the top ten. Perez was 11th, followed by Daniel Ricciardo, Alonso, Albon, and Valtteri Bottas.

Logan Sargeant took 16th for Williams, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon in 17th and 18th. Kevin Magnussen, who announced his departure from Haas at season’s end, finished 19th, ahead of Bearman in 20th.

Hungarian GP FP1 Results

2024 Hungarian Grand Prix FP1, 19 July 2024

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:18.713		27
2	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:18.989	+0.276s	20
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:19.011	+0.298s	29
4	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:19.137	+0.424s	28
5	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	1:19.180	+0.467s	24
6	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	1:19.211	+0.498s	26
7	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	1:19.249	+0.536s	26
8	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	1:19.260	+0.547s	26
9	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:19.265	+0.552s	25
10	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:19.287	+0.574s	29
11	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:19.440	+0.727s	22
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT	1:19.578	+0.865s	27
13	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:19.686	+0.973s	24
14	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	1:19.794	+1.081s	22
15	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	1:19.804	+1.091s	28
16	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	1:19.885	+1.172s	26
17	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	1:19.976	+1.263s	26
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	1:20.023	+1.310s	26
19	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:20.295	+1.582s	27
20	50	Oliver Bearman	Haas Ferrari	1:20.371	+1.658s	27

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.