George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14. 21.07.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 12, Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest, Hungary, Practice Day.
Last year’s pole-sitter George Russell topped a rain-affected opening practice session in Hungary, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez crashing out early on.
Russell set a best time of 1:38.795 around a wet Hungaroring, in a session delayed by Red Flag incidents and changeable weather. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished in second place, 0.359s back from Russell. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll finished third, 1.218s off of the fastest time.
Read More: F1 2023 Hungarian GP – FP1 Results
Perez had a session to forget. The Mexican is without a Q3 appearance since Miami and after dipping a wheel onto the grass on his out-lap, went cascading into the barriers at Turn 5, bringing out the Red Flag just under four minutes into the session. Perez’s upgraded Red Bull sustained damage to the front end.
Shortly after the session went back to green, the heavens opened and drivers returned to the pits to monitor the conditions. As the clock winded down, a smattering of drivers went out on Intermediates, getting a feel for the grip levels on track. The rain intensified with just under half an hour of session remaining, keeping the field in the pits waiting for driveable conditions. Once the rain started to ease, drivers started to emerge from the pits with just over a quarter of an hour left to run.
The Red Flag came out again not long after, thanks to Carlos Sainz spinning his Ferrari at the exit of Turn 3 and beaching it on the grass. He was assisted by the marshalls in good time and returned to the pits with light damage.
The session resumed with approximately ten minutes remaining and the bulk of the grid took to the circuit. Drivers then took turns to set the fastest time as more grip was to be found amidst the easing weather conditions. Top honours ultimately went to Russell, ahead of Piastri and Stroll.
Fourth and fifth place went to Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso respectively. The rest of the top ten was more than two seconds off of Russell’s benchmark, with Valtteri Bottas in sixth ahead of seventh-placed Charles Leclerc. The top ten was rounded out by Zhou Guanyu, Logan Sargeant and Nico Hulkenberg.
Several drivers didn’t set a time in the session, including Daniel Ricciardo, who elected not to test the conditions in his first competitive session back in F1 with AlphaTauri. Alongside Sainz and Perez, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Lewis Hamilton and championship leader Max Verstappen decided against setting a time.
The Hungarian GP continues with FP2 later this afternoon at 17:00 local time.
Keyword: Russell heads wet FP1 as Perez crashes out