It was a strange Friday in Budapest. In the first free practice, Pérez collapsed the tire stack hard on his first fast lap. After this it started to rain and there was little driving. During the second practice, Max Verstappen decided to save as many tires as possible for qualifying. Let’s see if we see the Dutch driver more in action during the 3rd free practice in Hungary.
For the first time this weekend it is very warm on the Hungaroring. As a result, the tires warm up quickly, but you can’t get the temperature out if you want to. According to Pérez, the tires do not cool down after a fast lap. According to his engineer, this will not change in qualifying. Verstappen is also not happy with the rubber: ‘The tires suck’, Verstappen summarizes.
A great midfield
Despite the tire problems, the Red Bulls set the fastest times halfway through the session on the medium tyre. The other teams mostly ride on the soft tyre. Based on these times, it seems that the midfield and the top teams behind Red Bull have joined together. McLaren also looks very strong on the twisty circuit in Hungary. Something we didn’t expect.
Haas and Alfa Romeo are also in good shape. Williams and Alpine fall a bit in between and AlphTauri seems to fall a bit by the wayside. Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin can get ready for more competition to get into Q3 later today. Verstappen probably doesn’t have to worry about that.
The Dutchman does have some trouble with the back of the car, which he says feels crazy. Verstappen loses grip on the rear wheels twice in the second corner. According to engineer Lambiase, there are no indications of a problem with the Red Bull. Maybe it’s the tires again?
VER 📻: “Is everything ok with the rear? Bit weird”
Max is struggling with snaps of oversteer 😳#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Zp5smjWPc1
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 22, 2023
Who will compete for pole position?
Fernando Alonso is the first of the top teams to do a push lap on the soft tyre. With this, Alonso sets the fastest time with about twenty minutes to go. Moments later, Lando Norris improves this time by 0.2 seconds on the mediums. With the speed over one lap, it is good at McLaren. Mercedes will also participate. On new soft tyres, Hamilton is fastest in every sector. He is more than half a second faster than Alonso.
Verstappen also shows the muscles on new soft tires. The Red Bull is only the fastest in the first sector and has to admit 0.250 seconds to Hamilton over the entire lap. “I still don’t have *beep* a grip. It’s unbelievable,” said Verstappen after this lap. Pérez closes in third, 0.013 seconds behind his teammate.
Finally, the Ferraris make an attempt to simulate qualifying. The red brigade does not get further than a sixth and seventh fastest time. To make it even more painful, Nico Hülkenberg is faster in his Haas. By the end of the session the times are no longer improving and Lando Norris is in good shape on his medium tyres. Camp Verstappen will look at how the balance on the back can be improved for qualifying later today.
Results of the 3rd free practice in Hungary
- Hamilton
- Verstappen
- Perez
- Hulkenberg
- Norris
- Russell
- Leclerc
- Sainz
- Alonso
- Bottas
- Stroll
- zhou
- Albon
- Piastri
- Magnussen
- Gasly
- Sergeant
- Richard
- Ocon
- Tsunoda
What time does F1 start at Hungaroring?
Saturday
Qualification: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sunday
Race: 3:00 PM
#Verstappen #grumbles #Hamilton #fastest #3rd #free #practice #Hungary