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
Source: Formula 1 and Sky Sports F1
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