George Russell finished fastest in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix as rain and red flags disrupted proceedings. The Mercedes driver set a benchmark of a 1:38.795 as the track evolved following a rain shower to finish 0.359secs faster than McLaren's Oscar Piastri. Lance Stroll was third fastest for Aston Martin ahead of Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso. Any chance of true dry running was taken away when Sergio Perez's latest mistake left his Red Bull perched in the barriers at Turn 5, triggering the red flags after just four minutes. The Mexican dropped a wheel onto the grass on entry before spinning off and damaging the right front of his RB19. After a delay of just under 10 minutes, cars returned to the track, only for the rain to begin in the final sector by the end of the first out laps - Valtteri Bottas rotating in his Alfa Romeo on slick tyres. Heavier rain fell midway through the opening hour of the weekend, with Lando Norris, Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly braving the conditions on Intermediates. But ultimately there was no representative running achievable, leaving the form books wide open for the rest of the weekend. Cars took to the track when the rain abated in the final 20 minutes, though Carlos Sainz triggered a second red-flag period having beached himself on a kerb between Turn 3 and Turn 4, making contact with the barrier for his troubles. Yuki Tsunoda also picked up damage in the closing stages with a spin at Turn 5, though was able to return back to the pits for a repair job to the front wing. Valtteri Bottas was sixth for Alfa Romeo, with teammate Zhou Guanyu forming a sandwich around Charles Leclerc's Ferrari. Logan Sargeant was ninth for Williams with Nico Hulkenberg's Haas completing the top 10. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton opted not to take to the track and set a lap time.
Most read
