The weekend's FP1 sees the much-discussed return of Daniel Ricciardo, yet another impulsive and ruthless move by Red Bull, the rain doesn't help to liven up the session which ends with only 13 riders setting the times, the reigning champion is missing ..
The battle of the weekend: Ricciardo vs Perez
The most discussed news of the last few weeks is undoubtedly the replacement of Dutch driver Nyck De Vries in favor of Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian had lost his Mclaren seat last year, returning to the Red Bull orbit as third driver. However, he didn't wait long to get back into an F1, with the tests first and with the sudden replacement, Red Bull style, of De Vries.
The return of Daniel Ricciardo is felt above all by Sergio Perez, which will surely have been reached by the rumors circulating about Red Bull's desire to plan another replacement which would concern him this time. And this is how he proves that he deserves his place in the world champion team, causing the red flag 5 minutes from the start, planting the car into the wall on the first flying lap. A somewhat banal mistake made by the Mexican, who slides with his left rear on the grass and loses his RB19.
There will be a lot of discontent at Red Bull, considering the team's need to test the new package of updates brought this weekend and not to mention that every mistake weighs on the budget cap.
In this seat race therefore Ricciardo 1- 0 Perez.
The rain brings calm
At the restart there was little activity on the track, also due to the rain falling on the hungaroring, many unsuccessful attempts, outlap and return to the pits.
With half an hour to go everyone stops in the pits and waits.
He thanks Perez since the rain does not allow the other teams to work as expected in these first free practices. Twenty minutes from the end of the session, the first timed lap arrives with Valtteri Bottas' Alfa Romeo. The others who return to the track also take courage, but the fun doesn't last long, given the arrival of the second red flag, caused by the Ferrari number 55 which slides with the intermediate tires and impacts gently against the wall. Nothing serious for the red car, which however needs a push to get going again, but once he returns to the pits the mechanics decide not to put him back on the track.
5 minutes of FP1
A session devoid of action for us and devoid of data for the teams, two red flags and the rain holding back in the pits for fear of taking unnecessary risks for free practice. In the last five minutes, however, we get back on track, some are looking for a lap, out of pride or for fun. But there are also those who take off their helmet before the red light, without recording any time. Ricciardo, Ocon, Gasly, Verstappen and Hamilton, together with Sainz and Perez stopped due to impacts with the track barriers.
This is how Hungary's FP1 ends, with Russell who takes home the best performance, followed by Oscar Piastri and Lance Stroll to close the top 3. Following: Norris, Alonso, Bottas, Leclerc, Zhou, Sargeant, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Tsunoda and Alex Albon.
