2024 Hungarian GP FP2: Norris top and Leclerc brings out red flag

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.

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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

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	1:17.788		24
2	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:18.031	+0.243s	20
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:18.185	+0.397s	23
4	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:18.255	+0.467s	23
5	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:18.294	+0.506s	20
6	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:18.315	+0.527s	24
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:18.363	+0.575s	20
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT	1:18.371	+0.583s	20
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	1:18.514	+0.726s	22
10	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:18.519	+0.731s	23
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	1:18.586	+0.798s	25
12	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	1:18.611	+0.823s	21
13	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	1:18.618	+0.830s	21
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	1:18.754	+0.966s	25
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	1:18.791	+1.003s	25
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	1:18.888	+1.100s	24
17	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:19.179	+1.391s	25
18	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:19.286	+1.498s	8
19	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	1:19.606	+1.818s	13
20	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	1:20.067	+2.279s	25

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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.