Max second in rainy FP2: 'The car worked well in all conditions'

Published on 02 August 2019 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen replicated his second place of the opening practice session of the Hungarian Grand Prix with P2 in FP2. In a session that started dry and ended with rain, The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver was beaten to the top spot on the leader board by team mate Pierre Gasly. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, completed the top three.

“We were quick on a dry track and we’re looking competitive”, explained Max to Verstappen.nl. “But it appears Mercedes is just quicker but we’re very close.”

The Dutchman continued: “We’ve been able to try a lot of different things to learn more about the car. The car felt good from the start. We had a good balance in dry conditions and everything worked well in the rain. It was a good day so I’m happy.”

Despite changeable weather conditions predicted for the remainder of the race weekend, Max is confident. “I only had one quick lap in the rain and it felt good. But we have to wait and see. The car worked well in all conditions, but hopefully it’s dry.”

The second and final Friday practice session starts with a bang; Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon crashes his car heavily in the final corner, prompting a red flag.

After fifteen minutes, Max, on the medium Pirellis compound, goes quickest ahead of Hamilton. Shortly after, Pierre Gasly tries his luck on the soft tyres and duly clocks the fastest lap of the session.

The Frenchman’s effort will be hard to better with rain showers passing over the Hungaroring. It prompts the drivers to return to pits and wait for the weather conditions to settle.

As the rain progresses, the drivers return to the track to get used to the circumstances as rain is predicted throughout the weekend and could thus affect qualifying and/or the race. The fastest times set earlier are not bettered on the intermediates, meaning Pierre Gasly, Max and Lewis Hamilton finish the day at the top of the timing sheets.

Hungarian GP contest: win an orange RBR 33 t-shirt and Verstappen beach towel

Results second free practice Hungary: