Lando Norris topped the timesheets on the opening day of the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix after setting the fastest time in the second practice session, which saw an interruption due to Charles Leclerc’s earlier crash.
With air temperatures reaching 31 degrees Celsius, several drivers quickly took to the track when the green light signalled the start at 5:00 pm local time. Nico Hulkenberg was among the first, having sat out FP1 to allow rookie Oliver Bearman to drive his Haas.
Formula One History Recommends
Sergio Perez initially set the pace in the early laps, but his teammate Max Verstappen soon reported brake issues over the radio, saying, “My brakes are not working. They’re not biting.” Both Red Bull drivers started on medium tyres, while McLaren opted for the hard compound.
The session was halted with about 44 minutes remaining when Leclerc took too much curb at Turn 4, spinning off and hitting the barriers. Luckily, he was unharmed, and the marshals recovered his Ferrari.
After a brief pause, the session resumed with less than 30 minutes to go. Most drivers switched to soft tyres for fast laps. However, there was more drama as Zhou Guanyu spun and narrowly avoided hitting Perez’s Red Bull.
Norris topped the timesheets with a lap of 1m 17.788s in his McLaren, 0.243s ahead of Verstappen. Carlos Sainz was the leading Ferrari in third, with Perez in fourth.
George Russell secured fifth place for Mercedes, followed by Kevin Magnussen in sixth place for Haas, and Lewis Hamilton in seventh place for Mercedes. Daniel Ricciardo took eighth in the RB, with Alex Albon of Williams and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin completing the top 10.
Valtteri Bottas placed 11th for Kick Sauber, ahead of Logan Sargeant in the Williams and Oscar Piastri in the McLaren, who lost time in the garage due to floor damage.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly of Alpine were 14th and 16th, respectively, separated by Hulkenberg in 15th. Lance Stroll, running updates on his Aston Martin, finished 17th.
Leclerc couldn’t rejoin, leaving him in 18th, while Yuki Tsunoda was 19th after his RB underwent a suspension change. Zhou finished 20th.
With Friday’s action complete, teams would be back out on track for the final practice on Saturday at 12:30 pm local time, followed by qualifying later that day.
Hungarian GP FP2 Results
2024 Hungarian Grand Prix FP2, 19 July 2024
Seen in: