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Formula 1 Hungarian GP

F1 Hungarian GP Live Updates - final practice and qualifying

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Verstappen said Red Bull "had a lot of work to do" yesterday after struggling in FP1, but he'll surely be encouraged by that time on Mediums.
Bottas now moves to the top, the first man into the 1m16s bracket with a '16.862s on Soft tyres.
Leclerc meanwhile goes third, three tenths behind his team-mate, with Albon a further tenth back (and a second off his team-mate) in fourth.
Vettel goes straight to the top on a 1m17.639s, but is immediately beaten by Verstappen on a 1m17.033s.
Or not - it appears Verstappen is on the Mediums. Someone must have told the teams to get a move on because now we've got Kvyat and the two Mercedes on track too.
Gasly, Verstappen and Albon all emerge too - the quintet all on Soft tyres.
We've got the Ferraris out on track now, clearly deciding they've done enough sitting around with 17 minutes of the session already in the books.
Latifi has joined him on track in the second Williams - he earned the ire of Max Verstappen yesterday, so will be looking to build his confidence back up again on an empty track.
Now Raikkonen resumes after taking new tyres, we believe on another set of Softs. Meanwhile Russell giving it full beans in the Williams, goes 1.6s slower than the Alfa.
George Russell is the latest driver to join the fray. He's got Medium tyres on the Williams.
Pierre Gasly is now being strapped into the AlphaTauri. He's another one, like Raikkonen, who will be playing catch-up today after a power unit problem in FP1 meant he didn't complete any dry laps.
Raikkonen is chipping away at his time and improves to a 1m18.617s.
As Raikkonen continues on track, a TV graphic helpfully reminds us that Raikkonen's first F1 race was Australia 2001 - a full two years before the aforementioned Pourchaire was even born...
But before we get too excited, it's worth pointing out that Hamilton's benchmark time in FP1 was 1m16.003s on the Hard tyres...
Raikkonen's first lap on the Soft tyres is a 1m19.136, which puts him fastest so far.
But as we type, he's joined by McLaren's Carlos Sainz. He'll not be too unhappy if qualifying is wet today, having qualified an excellent third last week in the Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
Raikkonen doesn't come back into the pits, so is setting purple sector times as the only man out on track at the moment.
All three come straight back into the pits, but Kimi Raikkonen is now out on track after giving up his car to Robert Kubica for the only dry running of the weekend so far, in FP1 yesterday.
The two Haas cars of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen have also emerged on track - all three are on the Soft compound tyres.
Just as yesterday, Lando Norris is the first man out of the garage, and pulls to the right-hand side at the end of the pitlane to do a practice start.
One driver who doesn't look too urgent to get out on track is Max Verstappen, who is chatting genially (we think - it's tricky to tell behind that mask) with his mechanics in the garage.
And yes, I think you'll agree, the 2004 Sauber was a magnificent-looking machine indeed.
That means there might just be time to squeeze in one more feature plug before we get underway. Following Andreas Seidl's comments yesterday that Formula 1 risks becoming "a copying championship", JAKE BOXALL-LEGGE was moved to point out that it has always been the case in F1 - and digs through the archive for some examples.
Why F1 has always been a
Charles Leclerc's Ferrari meanwhile is being pushed down the pitlane on dolly jacks after a visit to the weigh bridge. Five minutes to go until the session is green.
Currently out on track, we've got some Hungarian marshals with leaf blowers attempting to remove the oil-dry laid down during the F3 race. We're not sure how effective that technique is, but haven't got any better solutions to offer.
In more news from the paddock, Mercedes technical director James Allison has weighed in on the current strife at Ferrari and remarked that his former team is burdened by the pressure of its heritage, which manifests itself in having a short-term mindset that leads it "astray". No punches pulled there, then...
Allison: Ferrari heritage a burden causing F1 team to be led astray
Indeed, a bulletin from F1 informs us that the risk of rain for FP3 is 90%. That will certainly throw a proverbial cat amongst the proverbial pigeons.
The skies over the Hungaroring are decidedly overcast, and some menacing-looking black clouds are looking overhead. Predictions of rain today might not be far from the mark.
The FIA has also weighed into the row over Renault's protest of Racing Point's 'pink Mercedes', stating that there is "no indication" that the Mercedes Formula 1 team had illegally given Racing Point information on listed parts, but would be "co-guilty" if it did so. Here's ADAM COOPER with more.
There has been plenty of news coming from the paddock over the past 24 hours, not least the revelation that there have been two positive COVID-19 tests in Hungary. F1 confirmed that "the individuals were not present in Austria, with the affected people removed from operations and isolated".
F1 reports first two positive COVID test results ahead of Hungarian GP
In case you missed it yesterday, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in yesterday's FP1 session on Hard tyres, before rain disrupted FP2. That means FP3 will be crucial for teams to fine-tune their set-ups for qualifying and tomorrow's race. For an overview of yesterday's action, check out this analysis from Grand Prix editor Alex Kalinauckas.
The prediction that should enthrall and gall Mercedes' rivals - F1 - Autosport Plus
The Formula 3 race has just finished, with Sauber junior Theo Pourchaire taking his second consecutive win for ART. At 16 years old, the Frenchman could be someone we hear a lot about in the coming years.

By: Jake Boxall-Legge

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