Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari on top of the timesheets for the first time in the 2020 season in a second Hungarian Grand Prix session affected by wet weather.
First practice took place in dry and overcast conditions – with the occasional patch of drizzle having no effect on the drivers’ lap times.
But rain fell during Formula 2 practice and intensified heavily as Formula 3 began its qualifying session, forcing the abandonment of the third-tier’s half-hour running after just four minutes.
Formula 1’s 90-minute session commenced on schedule but running was minimal for the first 45 minutes due to the standing water and continued rainfall.
Only 13 of the 20 participants opted to set a lap time and of those Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen was the most productive, completing 16 laps, substantially down on the usual mileage in a dry session.
Vettel’s time of 1:40.464s left him 0.272s clear of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, while McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. was third.
The quickest times were all set on the full Wet tyres though some drivers trialled Intermediates at various stages of the session.
Racing Point pair Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez took fourth and fifth respectively, in front of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who registered some laps after missing FP1 due to a mechanical issue.
Gasly’s AT01 was fitted with a new Control Electronics between the sessions but he still reported concerns during the rain-affected running, radioing AlphaTauri to note his car “smells like a barbecue”.
Max Verstappen’s sole timed effort at the end of the session put him seventh, ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean, Raikkonen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
A few drivers had off-track excursions but the most dramatic was a trip through the Turn 7 gravel for Perez, with no-one suffering any accidents during the session.
World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who fronted the dry first session, completed just one installation lap.
Both representatives from Renault and Williams, along with Red Bull’s Alexander Albon and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, also opted against setting a timed effort.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:40.464 | 12 | |
| 2 | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 1:40.736 | 0.272 | 5 |
| 3 | C. Sainz | McLaren | 1:41.784 | 1.320 | 6 |
| 4 | L. Stroll | Racing Point | 1:42.380 | 1.916 | 6 |
| 5 | S. Perez | Racing Point | 1:42.470 | 2.006 | 5 |
| 6 | P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1:42.588 | 2.124 | 7 |
| 7 | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:42.820 | 2.356 | 4 |
| 8 | R. Grosjean | Haas | 1:43.335 | 2.871 | 6 |
| 9 | K. Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1:43.471 | 3.007 | 16 |
| 10 | C. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:43.725 | 3.261 | 10 |
| 11 | A. Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1:44.411 | 3.947 | 9 |
| 12 | L. Norris | McLaren | 1:46.000 | 5.536 | 5 |
| 13 | D. Kvyat | AlphaTauri | 1:47.422 | 6.958 | 7 |
| 14 | E. Ocon | Renault | No Time | 1 | |
| 15 | D. Ricciardo | Renault | No Time | 1 | |
| 16 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | No Time | 1 | |
| 17 | N. Latifi | Williams | No Time | 2 | |
| 18 | G. Russell | Williams | No Time | 2 | |
| 19 | A. Albon | Red Bull | No Time | 3 | |
| 20 | K. Magnussen | Haas | No Time | 1 |
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