Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in first practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari were using an upgraded floor aimed at resolving aerodynamic problems the team have experienced in recent races, and Sainz was 0.276 seconds clear of the world champion.
Sainz’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc was third fastest, 0.298secs off, and Mercedes’ George Russell fourth.
Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu was fifth fastest, underling the difficulty of predicting form from practice, ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Lewis Hamilton, winner of the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, was 10th fastest in the second Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who is under pressure to improve his performance after a series of weak races.
Red Bull have their biggest upgrade of the season on their car, featuring a revised engine cover, front wing and front and rear aerodynamic tweaks.
Verstappen said on Thursday that the upgrade’s performance would have a defining effect on the rest of their season, following the inroads made by Mercedes and McLaren in recent races.
“We are bringing quite some things to the car,” he said. “It is a bit bigger than what we have brought already. And of course, I hope that will give us a bit of lap time.
“If this is not giving us some good lap time, then I don’t know how the rest of the season is going to evolve.”
Aston Martin are another team with a major upgrade, theirs focusing on a heavily revised floor, in addition to front wing and beam wing – the lower part of the rear wing.
The upgrade is aimed at addressing the drivers’ concerns about inconsistent handling.
Fernando Alonso said on Thursday: “The car is not easy to drive and it’s a little bit unpredictable at times. So this obviously removes confidence to the driver, when you are not able to push and to trust the car that will do the same in every corner, in every lap.
“So this, let’s say, inconsistency is something that is not great when you are behind the wheel, and I’m struggling more this year than previously.”
The initial indications were not good.
The team were doing a comparison in the first session, Fernando Alonso using the upgrade and Lance Stroll the previous specification.
But neither was happy with their car. Stroll ended the session ninth fastest and Alonso 13th.
