Carlos Sainz quickest for Ferrari, and teammate Charles Leclerc third; world championship chief Max Verstappen, second for Purple Bull; Watch each session of the Hungarian GP reside on Sky Sports activities F1, with follow two afterward Friday at 4pm and Sunday's race at 2pm
14:15 UK Friday 19 July 2024
Carlos Sainz topped the primary follow session since Max Verstappen on the Hungarian Grand Prix as Ferrari boosted their hopes of returning to rivalry on the prime of the grid.
Sainz's team-mate Charles Leclerc was third as Ferrari gave the impression to be reaping the rewards of a transforming of the SF-24 ground, with Hungaroring traits more likely to go well with the Italian staff's automotive as effectively.
Purple Bull additionally debuted main upgrades to the RB20, which confirmed promise as world championship chief Verstappen managed to keep up a robust tempo later in his run on smooth tires that appeared to degrade right into a sooner tempo for its rivals.
George Russell was fourth for Mercedes, who’re searching for a 3rd straight win after shock back-to-back triumphs in Austria and Nice Britain, however team-mate Lewis Hamilton was solely 10th after his victory at Silverstone.
Verstappen's nearest title challenger Lando Norris was sixth, one place forward of team-mate Oscar Piastri, however the McLaren pair surprisingly adopted Zhou Guanyu, who impressed in a closely upgraded Sauber to take fifth place
George Russell prevented the incident with Yuki Tsunoda within the first follow session of the Hungarian Grand Prix
Purple Bull's Sergio Perez, going through hypothesis over his future on the weekend after poor type, was solely 11th however didn’t have all the brand new components operating on Verstappen's automotive.
Oliver Bearman was final for Haas because the British teenager continued his preparations for his debut F1 marketing campaign with the staff subsequent 12 months.
Will Ferrari enter the fray in fours?
Ferrari began the season as Purple Bull's closest rivals, and Leclerc's victory at his house race in Monaco on the finish of Could moved him to simply 31 factors behind Verstappen.
Nevertheless, energy unit issues hampered Ferrari in Canada earlier than an improve launched on the Spanish Grand Prix lastly introduced them again with a notable downside.
Sky F1's Anthony Davidson takes a take a look at the long-lasting Hungaroring forward of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix
Leclerc mentioned in Hungary on Thursday that he was assured that the experiments in Austria and Britain had allowed Ferrari to resolve the issue and that he anticipated a major enchancment this weekend.
It was his teammate Sainz, who has but to determine who he’ll drive for in 2025, with Hamilton changing him at Ferrari, who managed to profit from the SF-24.
Simply moments after Leclerc went quickest, Sainz was nearly three-tenths of a second clear with a 1:18.713, which might comfortably stay the quickest time of the session.
Whereas the outcome was massively encouraging for Ferrari, the follow sheets should be seen with warning given the completely different gas masses and energy ranges the groups are operating.
There’s additionally the truth that Hungary is a extra appropriate monitor for Ferrari, so even a robust weekend right here wouldn’t guarantee the identical degree of competitiveness stays subsequent weekend on the ultimate race earlier than the game's summer time break in Belgium.
Verstappen reveals promise in upgraded Purple Bull
Regardless of holding an 84-point lead over Norris on the prime of the drivers' standings, Verstappen admitted on Thursday that Purple Bull's newest improve could be important to allow him to keep up his grip on the world championship.
The numerous haul of recent components included a entrance wing, up to date entrance and rear corners, whereas there was additionally a brand new engine cowl and a halo designed to assist cooling within the sweltering Budapest circumstances.
Whereas Verstappen was unable to match Sainz's lead time, the truth that he was capable of go sooner than Leclerc whereas making a second cross on his smooth tires urged that Purple Bull might have an edge early on tire degradation which might be key. think about deciding Sunday's outcome.
Ted Kravitz appears to be like at Purple Bull's enhancements to the Hungarian Grand Prix
For Mercedes, who solely added a brand new rear nook to the W15 after making wonderful progress with a collection of enhancements in latest weeks, Russell was 4 tenths behind Sainz.
Hamilton was simply over a tenth slower than his team-mate, however that was price six positions on a good midfield timesheet.
Norris, seeking to make amends after failing to capitalize on an opportunity to win his house race, was half a second again of Sainz.
With there already being six winners from 4 completely different groups within the first 12 races, Friday's early viewing suggests the welcome unpredictability will proceed.
Sky Sports activities F1 reside Hungarian GP schedule
Friday 19 July
14:00: F3 qualifying
15:00: Qualifying F2
15.45: Hungarian GP, follow two (session begins at 16:00)
17:15: The F1 present
Saturday July 20
eight:45: F3 Dash
11.15 am: Hungarian GP follow three (session begins at 11.30am)
13.10: Dash F2
14.15: Preparation of for the Hungarian GP
15:00: Qualifications on the Hungarian GP
17:00: Ted's scorebook
Sunday July 21
7:20: F3 Characteristic Race
9am F2 Characteristic Race
11:00: Porsche Supercup
12:30: Grand Prix on Sunday – Hungarian GP preparation
14:00: HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
four p.m.: Checkered flag: Hungarian GP response
5:00 p.m.: Ted's pocket book
Subsequent up for F1 is the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest on July 19-21. You may watch each session reside on Sky Sports activities F1. Stream each F1 race and extra with a NOW Sports activities Month subscription – No contract, cancel anytime