Ricciardo dominates
Red Bull driver fastest in practice
BUDAPEST: Australian Daniel Ricciardo reminded Formula One’s title contenders that Red Bull remain a force to reckon with after lapping fastest in crash-interrupted practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Fourth in the championship, and 60 points behind Ferrari’s leader Sebastian Vettel at the mid-point in the season, the Perth-born driver recorded a best time of 1:18.455 in the afternoon.
He also led the morning timesheets in 1:18.486, with both his fastest times comfortably inside the race lap record of 1:19.071 set by Michael Schumacher with Ferrari in 2004.
Vettel was second fastest, 0.183 off the pace, after a slow start to his weekend.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, a point behind the German in the standings and chasing a record sixth Hungarian victory on Sunday, was third and fifth respectively in the two sessions.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, second fastest in the morning, was fourth behind fellow-Finn Valtteri Bottas after lunch.
Vettel had been more than a second slower than Ricciardo in sixth place on a warm but cloudy morning at the Hungaroring outside Budapest.
“Struggling a lot with oversteer and rear tyres didn’t seem to be ready,” the German said over the team radio.
Ricciardo’s Dutch teammate Max Verstappen was fourth and sixth.
Red Bull have brought important aerodynamic updates to Hungary, a track that has suited them in the past, and are hoping to be closer to Ferrari and champions Mercedes.
“It’s all aero stuff, but hopefully it all works together and gives us the laptime we desire. It’s a combination of things,” Ricciardo, winner in Hungary in 2014, had told reporters on Thursday.
There were encouraging signs at struggling former champions McLaren, who had Fernando Alonso and Belgian teammate Stoffel Vandoorne in the top 10 in both sessions at the slowest perma- nent track on the calendar.
Renault’s luckless Briton Jolyon Palmer, yet to score after 10 races, halted both sessions with costly errors that will have done little to boost the Briton’s confidence or the patience of team bosses.
Shattering his car’s front wing on a kerb, leaving debris over the track and puncturing the right front tyre, and then crashing backwards into the barriers in the afternoon was certainly not it.
Ferrari reserve Antonio Giovinazzi, having a morning outing in the Haas in place of Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen, brought the opening session to a halt when he hit the barriers.
Germany’s Pascal Wehrlein also dumped his Sauber heavily into the barriers in the afternoon. He went to the circuit medical centre but was reported to be fine. — Reuters