FP1 REPORT | Perez crashes inside of three minutes, Russell fastest

George Russell topped FP1 in Hungary with a 1:38.795 in a rainy first session on Friday. The Mercedes driver was followed by the Oscar Piastri and Lance Stroll. There were two red flags during the session, first Sergio Perez crashed his Red Bull in Turn 5 still in dry condition, then Carlos Sainz spun out of Turn 3 and also hit the wall.

Within three minutes, the red flag already had to be waved, after Sergio Perez hit the wall coming out of Turn 5 after clipping the grass with his front left tyre, and he could not continue the session. Guanyu Zhou also had some problems himself, he told his team over the team radio that he is losing power.

After the red flag period, heavy rain arrived on the track instantly. No one could complete a lap time on the slick tyres, Valtteri Bottas also spun in Turn 12, but his car was not damaged. Until 20 minutes to go in the session, drivers were just trying the track out on intermediates. First Lewis Hamilton, then Esteban Ocon went out on track then quickly came back to the pit lane. The two Ferraris had troubles in the chicane, while Oscar Piastri also showed his great drifting skills.

Valtteri Bottas completed the first lap in the rain with 20 minutes to go, and many other drivers including Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo exited their pit box, but Carlos Sainz hit the wall coming off of Turn 3 and got stuck, leading to the second red flag of the day. The Spaniard was helped and could drive back into the pit lane. In the dying moments of the session, Yuki Tsunoda also lost his front wing during his lap.

George Russell set the quickest time in the rain, and was followed by Oscar Piastri and Lance Stroll. On the other hand, Max Verstappen did not set a lap time during the session, along with Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, the two Alpines and the two drivers who have caused a red flag earlier. The session was not an indicator in terms of what can be expected for the rest of the weekend, as no more rain is expected for the upcoming sessions.