Red Bull drivers top the rain-affected FP2

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Pierre Gasly went quickest in the second free practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix in front of his team mate Max Verstappen. Ferrari drivers only finished in the midfield in the rain-affected afternoon session.

Already at the start of the session, there was a threat of rain with dark clouds covering the sky over the Hungaroring. However, the first minutes were dry enough for the drivers to use the slick tyres. Having sat out FP1 due to an engine-related issue, Valtteri Bottas quickly made appearance on the track to collect some useful data and make up on the lost track time.

The session was then interrupted early after following Alexander Albon’s crash at Turn 14. The Thai-British driver lost control over his Toro Rosso after having gone wide and clipping the grass into the second bend of the circuit. The marshals did a quick job to clear the track, enabling the drivers to continue their work.

Pierre Gasly recorded the fastest lap with a time of 1’17.854 on Pirelli’s soft tyres. His team-mate Max Verstappen was only 0.055 seconds slower on the medium compounds while it was Lewis Hamilton who recorded the most impressive lap time. The Briton set a 1’17.995 on Pirelli’s hard rubber while his team mate Valtteri Bottas ended the session fourth fastest on the medium tyres.

As it started to drizzle with 25 minutes into the session, track conditions got really difficult. There was not enough water on the track for intermediates, but it was too slippery for slick. It then forced most of the drivers to stay in the pits for a long while.

With around twenty minutes to go, the intensity of rain increased, inviting drivers to head on to the track for wet-weather tyre running. Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc made the most out of the condition. The German driver completed a high-fuel long run on Pirelli's intermediates, probably trying to find out why he did not find the comfort on the wet surface in last weekend's German Grand Prix.

Results

Pos.CarDriverTeamTimeGapLaps
110Pierre GaslyRed Bull Racing Honda1:17.854-16
233Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda1:17.909+0.055s12
344Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:17.995+0.141s15
477Valtteri BottasMercedes1:18.184+0.330s18
53Daniel RicciardoRenault1:18.597+0.743s13
67Kimi RäikkönenAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:18.682+0.828s25
716Charles LeclercFerrari1:18.852+0.998s21
827Nico HulkenbergRenault1:18.892+1.038s14
999Antonio GiovinazziAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:18.909+1.055s25
1026Daniil KvyatScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:18.957+1.103s22
118Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari1:19.149+1.295s19
1220Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:19.178+1.324s21
135Sebastian VettelFerrari1:19.254+1.400s24
1455Carlos SainzMclaren Renault1:19.398+1.544s22
1511Sergio PerezRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:19.721+1.867s13
1618Lance StrollRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:19.774+1.920s14
1763George RussellWilliams Mercedes1:19.889+2.035s14
184Lando NorrisMclaren Renault1:20.401+2.547s6
1988Robert KubicaWilliams Mercedes1:20.439+2.585s15
2023Alexander AlbonScuderia Toro Rosso Honda2