Hungary – Free Practice 3: Hamilton still unbeatable

The weather is still just as beautiful and warm in Hungary. Thus, the drivers will be racing in conditions similar to those of yesterday.

The session was initially marked by several wheel lock-ups and small mistakes on the straight, before the first corner, exemplified by Sergio Perez who spun without any apparent consequences in the very first minutes. It should be noted that the Force Indias couldn’t run on Friday afternoon, and they were the first to put on soft tires after half an hour. Hülkenberg, who led for a significant portion of the session, ended up in 6th place, while Perez is 15th.

But before that, with all the teams on medium tires, it was the two Ferrari drivers who stood out after the first quarter-hour, in the absence of the two Mercedes drivers. Indeed, while Räikkönen took the best time, his teammate Sebastian Vettel responded to him in less than a tenth, but the Finn immediately answered back by three-tenths. Not very convincing since the start of the weekend, Vettel eventually managed to get the third fastest time towards the end of the session. Räikkönen, victim of an engine problem shortly before the end, finished 16th.

At McLaren, the sentiment is mixed. Long in third place, Fernando Alonso finally finishes eighth. Which is quite respectable considering the results of previous weekends. Jenson Button, on the other hand, made it known that he wasn’t comfortable and was rather pessimistic about the qualifications. His result speaks to that, as he finished 13th.

The Red Bulls couldn’t replicate their performance from the previous day. Although Kvyat finishes in fourth place, Ricciardo, on the other hand, lags behind in ninth place. It’s really Toro Rosso that seems to be seriously competing with them. Very discreet, Sainz finishes 5th, and Verstappen salvages the situation by finishing 7th. The latter had complained of brake issues.

It took a good half-hour to see the Mercedes fight for first place. With a time of 1:22.997, Lewis Hamilton once again proves to be the strongest. His goal is to secure pole position and turn it into a victory, something he already achieved in 2012 and 2013. Nico Rosberg, who was stuck in the pits at the end of the session, will have a tough task this afternoon to compete with the Brit.