Hamilton fastest as rain follows Formula One to Hungary

Formula One’s stay in Hungary’s Hungaroring this weekend for the country’s Grand Prix has started as per previous weekends in the UK and Germany; with rain affecting free practice sessions. With the P Zero White medium tyre and P Zero Yellow soft tyres the nominated tyres, Pirelli saw the intermediate Cinturato Green tyres used more than had been hoped, though ambient temperatures of 29°C and 45°C track temperatures, the drivers used what dry running time they had on Friday to assess the performance and degradation levels on both tyres, using a variety of fuel loads. Pirelli says this information is more crucial than usual in Hungary, as it is very difficult to overtake on the tight and narrow track. There was also significant surface evolution on the underused circuit over the course of the day as more rubber was laid down.

All the drivers started free practice two on the medium tyre, before moving onto the soft tyre. Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was first to make the switch, with the teams anxious to get in some running on the soft before the predicted rain arrived. Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne was the first to sample the Cinturato Blue full wet, while Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher tried the Cinturato Green intermediate – and went off on a patch of standing water. Once the rain had eased, all the drivers completed the hour and a half session on the intermediate.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was the first man to go quickest on the soft tyre before the rain fell, followed by McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, who then took over the top spot from Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) and set the fastest time of the weekend: 1m21.995s

Hamilton was also quickest in free practice one with a time of 1m22.821s on the P Zero White medium tyres, having completed 30 laps in the morning: more than anyone else. All the drivers used the medium tyre during the first session with Hamilton’s team mate Jenson Button recording the second-fastest time.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “Although we had the same tyre nomination as Germany, the conditions were quite different – underlining the capabilities of our tyres in a wide range of weather and track conditions. The unique layout of the Hungaroring means that driving precision is key to hooking up the flowing sequence of corners, and obviously the grip from the front tyres in particular is crucial.

“Teams can improve turn-in by working on the set-up, but this can have a detrimental effect on tyre wear so as usual today’s running was about finding the best compromise set-up, under challenging circumstances. Once again we saw some rain during the session, but with a 50 per cent chance of more rain on Sunday this was a valuable opportunity to learn not only about the car in these conditions but also the circuit, with some parts of the track remaining much wetter than others.

“The rain also meant that teams did not get the opportunity to complete long runs on full fuel with the soft tyre, which will affect their strategic preparations for the race and now becomes a priority for the final free practice session tomorrow. We’re expecting a difference of about 0.8s per lap between the soft and the medium tyres in dry conditions but with so many variables we seem set for another unpredictable race, following what should be a dry qualifying session tomorrow.”

Nico Hulkenberg of Force India has done well at the circuit in GP2 and in F1, finishing a respectable sixth in 2010: “Although it’s quite a slow circuit, it’s very difficult to get a good lap time because it’s a track where each corner flows into the next, so it’s quite challenging and you need to find the rhythm. In terms of tyres it asks a lot because you are nearly always in a corner and there are no long straights where the tyres get a chance to cool down. I think we should be able to fight for points this weekend because we have looked quite strong on circuits with not so many fast corners, such as Monaco and Valencia, so hopefully the circuit characteristics will suit our car.”

Pirelli’s test driver, Jaime Alguersuari, says: “Hungary is a bit like a go-kart track: it’s very good fun but a really tough race for the tyres and also the driver: your heart rate is at the highest that it is all year because of the high temperatures and not much cooling. In terms of set-up we run the highest downforce of the season, so we really maximise the aerodynamic potential of the car and this has an effect on the tyres too, with the front-left working particularly hard.

“With all the low to medium speed corners, combined traction and braking stability is very important: there is only one high-speed corner and that is really the only overtaking opportunity as well. Last year was a very complicated race where we started on the intermediate tyre and then moved onto the slick, but I think it should be quite different this year. The cars that should do well in Hungary this weekend are the ones that generate most downforce, because that is the most important factor there.”