The second practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix proved to be a thrilling affair, with Charles Leclerc emerging as the fastest driver. The Ferrari driver narrowly edged out Lando Norris from McLaren and Pierre Gasly from Alpine to secure P1 on a dry track at Hungaroring. With rain playing spoilsport during FP1, drivers wasted no time getting on track for FP2 to acquaint themselves with their new upgrades.
Free Practice 2 Results - Hungarian GP
The opening minutes witnessed numerous drivers vying for top positions, resulting in a highly competitive start. Surprisingly, it was Logan Sargeant from Williams who initially claimed P1 with an impressive lap time of 1m 18.836s, just edging out Max Verstappen's Red Bull by 0.075s.
As teams switched to qualifying simulations after running high fuel laps initially, it was Charles Leclerc who ultimately dominated proceedings with his blistering lap time of 1m 17.686s – making him top for FP2 by just 0.015s over Lando Norris.
Pierre Gasly showcased his speed once again by securing third place overall while teammate Esteban Ocon finished fifth behind Yuki Tsunoda from AlphaTauri – completing an all-French line-up within striking distance.
Nico Hulkenberg impressed again by claiming a sixth place for Haas followed closely behind by Valtteri Bottas finishing seventh after opting not to run soft tires during this session along with Zhou Guanyu from Alfa Romeo claiming ninth position alongside his teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Fernando Alonso, who secured his first career victory at Budapest in 2003, finished eighth, sandwiched between the two Alfa Romeos. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz claimed tenth position for Ferrari.
Championship leader Max Verstappen found himself in eleventh place as he skipped a low-fuel run on soft tires. However, his time was sufficient to keep him ahead of Lance Stroll from Aston Martin in twelfth and Alex Albon from Williams in thirteenth – both also setting their fastest times on mediums.
Daniel Ricciardo marked his full-time return with AlphaTauri by finishing fourteenth followed by Kevin Magnussen from Haas taking fifteenth place.
Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell rounded off the top twenty with sixteenth and twentieth-place finishes respectively. Both drivers opted against using soft tires during FP2 as they focused primarily on long runs using medium compounds.
Logan Sargeant's early pace faltered over time resulting in seventeenth place while Sergio Perez struggled to recover from an FP1 crash ending up eighteenth overall. As for Oscar Piastri from McLaren, damage sustained to his floor limited running opportunities but still managed to finish nineteenth ahead of George Russell
Teams will now closely analyze the data gathered during today's sessions as they prepare for tomorrow's third practice session at 12:30 local time before heading into qualifying at 16:00. The Hungarian Grand Prix promises further excitement as teams refine their strategies based on today's performance indicators.
