Hungaroring FR3.5: Carlos Sainz Jr sets practice pace
Carlos Sainz Jr kicked off his return to Formula Renault 3.5 action by setting the pace in free practice on Friday at the Hungaroring
The Red Bull junior - who raced at Monaco and Spa earlier in the season - is set to complete the campaign with Zeta Corse.
He enjoyed a brief spell at the top of the times with fellow Red Bull stablemate Antonio Felix da Costa early on, and he then set the quickest time of the day in the final minutes of the afternoon session.
Sainz's lap denied potential Sauber 2014 Formula 1 racer Sergey Sirotkin the top spot, after he had moved into first place with 10 minutes to go.
Will Buller completed a good day for Zeta by jumping up to third in the closing stages, moving him just ahead of morning pacesetter Marco Sorensen, who dominated the last FR3.5 event at Spielberg.
Championship leader Kevin Magnussen completed the top five, just ahead of Will Stevens, who fell from second to sixth during a frantic spell of action in the closing stages.
Two drivers who didn't get involved in any of the late-session excitement in the afternoon were da Costa and Magnussen's title rival Stoffel Vandoorne.
The pair enjoyed a long spell at the top of the times during the middle of the session, but they were shuffled down to seventh and ninth respectively in the final few minutes.
Afternoon times
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Carlos Sainz Jr Zeta Course 1m29.185s 23 2. Sergey Sirotkin ISR 1m29.361s +0.176s 24 3. Will Buller Zeta Corse 1m29.395s +0.210s 19 4. Marco Sorensen Lotus 1m29.400s +0.215s 23 5. Kevin Magnussen DAMS 1m29.516s +0.331s 23 6. Will Stevens P1 1m29.625s +0.440s 24 7. Antonio Felix da Costa Arden Caterham 1m29.632s +0.447s 25 8. Nico Muller Draco 1m29.734s +0.549s 23 9. Stoffel Vandoorne Fortec 1m29.875s +0.690s 25 10. Arthur Pic AV Formula 1m29.889s +0.704s 18 11. Lucas Foresti Comtec 1m30.083s +0.898s 21 12. Norman Nato DAMS 1m30.195s +1.010s 23 13. Oliver Webb Fortec 1m30.199s +1.014s 22 14. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin 1m30.242s +1.057s 24 15. Marlon Stockinger Lotus 1m30.431s +1.246s 24 16. Christophe Zanella ISR 1m30.571s +1.386s 21 17. Nigel Melker Tech 1 1m30.575s +1.390s 23 18. Matias Laine P1 1m30.647s +1.462s 21 19. Carlos Huertas Carlin 1m30.731s +1.546s 20 20. Zoel Amberg Pons 1m30.826s +1.641s 23 21. Nikolay Martsenko Pons 1m30.960s +1.775s 21 22. Yann Cunha AV Formula 1m31.025s +1.840s 20 23. Daniil Move Comtec 1m31.072s +1.887s 20 24. Mikhail Aleshin Tech 1 1m31.174s +1.989s 24 25. Pietro Fantin Arden Caterham 1m31.251s +2.066s 26 26. Andre Negrao Draco 1m31.488s +2.303s 23
Morning times
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Marco Sorensen Lotus 1m29.574s 24 2. Kevin Magnussen DAMS 1m29.690s +0.116 24 3. Carlos Sainz Jr Zeta Corse 1m30.030s +0.456 20 4. Nico Muller Draco 1m30.106s +0.532 24 5. Will Stevens P1 1m30.169s +0.595 21 6. Marlon Stockinger Lotus 1m30.317s +0.743 21 7. Arthur Pic AV Formula 1m30.476s +0.902 21 8. Antonio Felix da Costa Arden Caterham 1m30.603s +1.029 19 9. Oliver Webb Fortec 1m30.671s +1.097 24 10. Nigel Melker Tech 1 1m30.723s +1.149 26 11. Sergey Sirotkin ISR 1m30.875s +1.301 21 12. Carlos Huertas Carlin 1m31.056s +1.482 21 13. Lucas Foresti Comtec 1m31.063s +1.489 18 14. Andre Negrao Draco 1m31.151s +1.577 19 15. Stoffel Vandoorne Fortec 1m31.162s +1.588 25 16. Daniil Move Comtec 1m31.183s +1.609 18 17. Zoel Amberg Pons 1m31.184s +1.610 23 18. Pietro Fantin Arden Caterham 1m31.205s +1.631 21 19. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin 1m31.223s +1.649 22 20. Norman Nato DAMS 1m31.321s +1.747 12 21. Matias Laine P1 1m31.423s +1.849 19 22. Nikolay Martsenko Pons 1m31.435s +1.861 18 23. Christopher Zanella ISR 1m31.863s +2.289 17 24. Yann Cunha AV Formula 1m31.987s +2.413 19 25. Mikhail Aleshin Tech 1 1m32.166s +2.592 13 26. Will Buller Zeta Corse 1m32.695s +3.121 18
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