FP1 & FP2 - Hungarian GP report: Mercedes

Scorching start to Hungarian Grand Prix weekend in Budapest

— Lewis topped the times in both practice sessions with Nico finishing the morning in second and the afternoon in fourth
— An eventful start to the weekend in Budapest saw three red flag periods across the two sessions
— Both cars ran the prime (medium) tyre in P1, the prime and option (soft) compound in P2

Lewis Hamilton

”It was really good fun out there today. I’m starting to think this might be my favourite track. It’s so fun to drive with the combination of corners and undulations. The way it all flows together just feels old school. It’s incredibly hot, though – like driving in a sauna! You’re drenched in sweat before you even get in the car with all the thermals on and I lost about half a kilo just in that session. It’s a big challenge to get a good lap here in these conditions and I think everyone has struggled a bit. It’s meant to be a bit cooler on Sunday which will be easier to cope with physically but will obviously change the balance a bit, so it should be interesting. Our car feels strong here though and I’m very happy with it so far.”

Nico Rosberg

“Today was a difficult day for me. I didn’t ever really find the right balance, moving from oversteer to understeer. The long run pace was okay, so I can build on that. But I definitely have some work to do to improve my setup before tomorrow morning and get some practice in for qualifying during P3. It’s really hot out there. In the car you are sitting almost on the asphalt, so you can feel the heat very much. It will be a demanding race on Sunday.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)

“A good start to the weekend. It’s been very hot during P2 – both for the drivers and the crew – but was a little cooler during P1, which we suspect will be more representative of temperatures during the race on Sunday. The morning session was interrupted by two red flags which meant we couldn’t quite do as much as we wanted to, while the afternoon session saw a full programme completed. It seems everyone is finding it tough to put together a complete flying lap, so it should make for an interesting qualifying session tomorrow.”