Hungary – Free Practice 1: Ricciardo surprises everyone and puts his Red Bull on top

The Hungarian Grand Prix is the last race before the three-week summer break. The Hungaroring is therefore an important stage in the season, allowing the different teams to make a preliminary assessment of their performance at mid-season.

Very winding, the track will therefore favor the aerodynamics of the cars over their power. A golden opportunity to shine for certain teams lacking speed, such as McLaren or Sauber, who dream of scoring some crucial points in this challenging season.

This morning, for the first free practice session, Antonio Giovinazzi replaces Kevin Magnussen at Haas, while Alfonso Celis has taken Esteban Ocon’s place in the Force India. The Dane and the Frenchman will be back in their respective cars this afternoon for the second session.

The sun is shining in Budapest, creating ideal track conditions for fast lap times and the track record to be quickly broken, as we’ve seen since the beginning of the season on other circuits.

Budapest weather = 👌#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/fzvl8YjtXp

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet 2017

The drivers are slow to start a fast lap at the beginning of the session. Only Daniel Ricciardo sets a time behind the wheel of his Red Bull with a 1:21.212 while his teammate, Max Verstappen, tests new components on his car with measurement tools attached to the chassis that can be seen during winter testing.

Some drivers make mistakes on a still dusty track. Stoffel Vandoorne spins but manages to get his McLaren back on track while Romain Grosjean hits the wall with his Haas after going off track. The Frenchman has to return to the pits to have his car checked, which seems damaged at the rear.

GRO: “I hit the wall. There is something wrong with the rear of the car”#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/iFztyOelyQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet 2017

After half an hour of session, the two Mercedes take the lead on the timesheet. Valtteri Bottas in 1:19.451 is ahead of Lewis Hamilton by two tenths and the two Ferraris of Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel. The German also made a mistake at turn number 9, but without consequence on his car. The two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso’s McLaren, Felipe Massa’s Williams, Vandoorne’s other McLaren, and Nico Hülkenberg’s Renault complete the Top 10.

The red flag is waved after Antonio Giovinazzi goes off track at turn number 11. The Italian lost control of his Haas and hit the tire barrier, destroying his front left suspension. With the car being particularly poorly positioned, the race direction decided to interrupt the session to clear the vehicle of the unfortunate Italian, bringing his weekend to an end.

🚩RED FLAG 🚩

GIO hits the wall at Turn 11 and the session is halted#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/ah5YCFzrHz

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet 2017

Once the Haas is cleared, the drivers get back on track and start setting faster times. Bottas remains the fastest with a 1:19.248, ahead of Hamilton who slightly closes the gap with a 1:19.376. Behind them, it’s Ricciardo who surprises the Ferraris by placing his Red Bull in third position.

There are now 30 minutes left in this session, and it’s Lewis Hamilton leading with a time of 1:18.858. He is the first driver to go under the 1 minute and 19 seconds mark! Behind him, the Ferraris seem to be struggling a bit more, while the Red Bulls are strong.

The Force India cars are not very comfortable on this track either, Sergio Pérez is only 12th, two and a half seconds off the best time, and Celis is in 19th place, just ahead of Romain Grosjean who returned to the track after his little mishap at the start of the session.

Daniel Ricciardo strings together fast laps with his Red Bull equipped with Super Soft tires. The Australian moves up to second place behind Hamilton, then overtakes the Briton to set the fastest time at 1:18.486, just 6 thousandths ahead of the Mercedes! All the drivers have set their best time with the softest tire compound brought by Pirelli this weekend.

For Ferrari and Vettel, the difficulties are mounting. The German goes a bit too wide on a curb and sees parts of his car, probably from the floor, fly off. It’s a tough start to the weekend for the current leader of the drivers’ world championship, who is more than a second off the best time. Meanwhile, Kimi Räikkönen closes in on the lead and sets the second fastest time with a 1:18.720.

📻 VET: “I’m struggling a lot with oversteer” #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/RFeGs5Uj7W

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet 2017

Jolyon Palmer manages to slot his Renault into the last spot of the Top 10, just behind his teammate. The McLarens are also among the best with a 7th place for Alonso and an 8th for Vandoorne, 1.5 seconds off Ricciardo’s best time.

In the last quarter hour, the times don’t change except for Romain Grosjean who tries to make up for lost time. The Frenchman places his Haas in 16th position in a session made difficult by the team’s drivers’ mistakes for the American team. In a last effort, Max Verstappen also manages to slip his Red Bull into 4th position ahead of Bottas’s Mercedes.

The session ends with another red flag following the loss of the front wing from Palmer’s Renault after a slightly too aggressive excursion over the curb of turn number 4.

The full classification of FP1:

INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP1): A successful opening session for @danielricciardo #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/yNNjDclyEY

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juillet 2017