Good showing Friday (as usual) by Mercedes and Red Bull. Tsunoda’s crash was the only major incident of the day,
BUDAPEST, Hungary—Putting rumors aside, Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas set the best time on Friday afternoon as drivers prepared for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Partner Lewis Hamilton was only 27 thousand of a second behind Bottas’s 1:17:012 time. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen struggled with understeer and placed third. Verstappen did much better in the morning when the Dutchman finished ahead of both Mercedes drivers.
The rumor mill is churning about the possibility that Bottas may not return with the Silver Arrows in 2022. But whether or not that will happen certainly didn’t factor into Friday’s results.
As for other drivers, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon placed a deserving fourth overall–a refreshing change from recent performances. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ended in fifth. Pierre Gasly, being consistent as he always is, took sixth in the other Alpha Tauri, while Fernando Alonso finishing seventh in the second Alpine. Eighth and tenth were the two Aston Martin drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, respectively, with Lando Norris taking ninth in his McLaren.
Tsunoda walks away from the crash (photo, Reddit)
As for the rest of the field, the primary headline belonged to Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, who suffered a morning accident at turn four. He was unhurt, but the rear of his car sustained heavy damage, and the incident brought out a red flag.
Tsunoda had better luck in the afternoon even though his crew spent most of the session trying to repair the morning’s damage. Tsunoda finally emerged from the garage with just over two minutes left in the session and took one flying lap. That lap was good enough for him to finish 17th.
Friday might be the only day when the drivers have dry conditions. That’s because possible thunderstorms are in the forecast. With the prospect of bad weather looming, it’s anybody’s guess how conditions will factor into how Sunday’s race turns out.
