FP2 report: Sebastian Vettel tops a very wet practice session in Hungary

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17 July 2020 at 15:30
Last update 17 July 2020 at 15:54
  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Sebastian Vettel has topped the second Formula 1 practice session ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix. A 1:40.464 was his fastest lap of the afternoon. Wet conditions, which forced drivers to carefully tiptoe around the circuit, lasted the entire practice session. Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz recorded the second and third fastest times respectively. 

After their recent troubles, both Ferrari drivers took the chance to record plenty of laps despite the conditions. In contrast, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Alex Albon decided to stay dry by driving only single installation laps in the 90 minutes. 

In total, only 12 drivers set timed laps. 

The Racing Point car didn't look strong in the wet last weekend in Austria, but any issues for the Pink Mercedes seemed to have been solved. 

How it happened...

The Formula 3 qualifying session, which preceded this Formula 1 session, was suspended due to the wet weather. Despite the sweeper trucks providing us with their best efforts to push the water away, the track remained wet for the start of the second F1 practice session.

Pierre Gasly was the first man to test his luck out on the track. A cautious but, important installation lap following a car issue which kept him in the garage during FP1.

The weather forecast shows potential for rain on both Saturday and Sunday. Sergio Perez and Racing Point wanted to take advantage and record data in the wet conditions by staying out for the first official timed lap of the afternoon.

In last week's qualifying session, the Pink Mercedes struggled in the wet. Lance Stroll and Perez exchanged fastest laps for over 15 minutes while the rest of the grid saved their intermediate and wet tyres.

Action 

With 40 minutes remaining, the action started to ramp up. Both Ferrari drivers went out on a track which they deemed wet enough for the most extreme, blue striped tyres.

Vettel was the first driver to push harder. He topped the timesheets with a 1:40.464. Bottas looked to challenge that time on his first venture but he pulled up three-tenths short. 

A week after proving he is the F1 rain master, Hamilton came out on track for a single lap with inside the final 20 minutes. Verstappen also joined the world champion on track but opted for the intermediate tyres. 

Towards the end of the session, Vettel started to push harder but misjudged a couple of turns in the second sector. He managed to slow the car down enough to avoid any drama in the barrier or gravel trap. 

Following engine issues this morning, Gasly ran another lap at the end of the session. The Frenchman told his team on the radio that the back of the car was smelling like a burning BBQ.

But nobody was able to challenge the fastest three drivers in the final few laps.