With FP2 completed on the Friday before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc posted the fastest lap over the course of an hour.
After the rain started during FP1, it had finally stopped training before the start of FP2, but the track was still not completely dry. However, most cars went out on track to get their initial laps in and warm up their tires.
Once the track got completely dry, the fast times started coming in. Once the session was completed, all the drivers had posted their fastest laps under the sun at Budapest. Here are the complete results from FP2 before the Hungarian Grand Prix:
Position | Name | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Charles Leclerc | 1:17.686 |
2 | Lando Norris | 1:17.701 |
3 | Pierre Gasly | 1:17.918 |
4 | Yuki Tsunoda | 1:17.934 |
5 | Esteban Ocon | 1:18.045 |
6 | Nico Hulkenberg | 1:18.058 |
7 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:18.085 |
8 | Fernando Alonso | 1:18.105 |
9 | Guanyu Zhou | 1:18.108 |
10 | Carlos Sainz | 1:18.182 |
11 | Max Verstappen | 1:18.279 |
12 | Lance Stroll | 1:18.319 |
13 | Alexander Albon | 1:18.377 |
14 | Daniel Ricciardo | 1:18.385 |
15 | Kevin Magnussen | 1:18.504 |
16 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:18.746 |
17 | Logan Sargeant | 1:18.836 |
18 | Sergio Perez | 1:18.978 |
19 | Oscar Piastri | 1:19.117 |
20 | George Russell | 1:19.175 |
It was mixed results all around. We have one McLaren in P2 and the other in P19. Both Red Bulls are in the bottom half of the table. A bad performance from Mercedes as well.
The smaller teams have done reasonably well Valtteri Bottas who had the 7th fastest time, had the fastest lap on medium tires. Yuki Tsunoda put in an impressive lap that placed him in 4th position. Even Hulkenberg and Zhou performed well in FP2.
There were some surprising results out there. But the biggest story is Charles Leclerc in P1 and Red Bull in the bottom half of the table.
Charles Leclerc takes P1 on as Red Bull struggles in FP2 before the Hungarian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc posted the fastest lap time of 1.17.686. Most Formula 1 fans who have been following the sport this season would expect Red Bull to be somewhere close behind. However, the only driver closest to Leclerc was Lando Norris in the McLaren.
Since McLaren introduced their new upgrades, they have been able to take the fight to Mercedes and Ferrari in the fight for P2 in the WCC. They have made some interesting developments over the last few weeks.
Riding onboard with our fastest driver out on track so far for FP2, @Charles_Leclerc! 🚀#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/uM1jYsUTR2
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2023
The Hungaroring is a low-pace and high-downforce type of track. This type of track suits Ferrari’s car. With the right setup, Ferrari can set a good pace. This is what Charles Leclerc did. However, his teammate was not able to get a better result than P10.
The Red Bulls finished P11 and P18. This is a very disappointing result for them. Although FP2 has no impact on the Championship, they do affect the team’s ability to provide their drivers with the best setup. With Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggling in FP2, it may not be good news for the team. Perez had a tough FP1 as well after crashing within the first 3 minutes. They introduced a new upgrade for this weekend, maybe they are not working as well as expected.
This weekend is turning out to be a very interesting one. We will know more about where the teams stand after FP3 tomorrow. If Red Bull does not improve in FP3, they will be in trouble during qualifying. Let us see if Charles Leclerc can show a similar pace tomorrow as well.