Sainz and Alonso, with good prospects before the deluge

The Hungarian circuit does not leave room for spectacle, normally, much less on a Friday of free practice. The winding Magyar layout, considered a kind of outer Monaco, led to a not very productive session in terms of show, although it did serve to confirm sensations. One of the first is that Ferrari wants to make up for what happened in France. The painful abandonment of Charles Leclerc, who was the fastest in free practice this Friday, still weighs too much. The feeling within the Scuderia is that they lost a golden opportunity, not only because of the KO of the Monegasque, but because by winning Max Verstappen they left practically seen to sentence the title. Although there is a little less than half a season left, the Dutchman now only has to play defensively, because he has a 63-point advantage. He can drop out of the next two races and still lead.

Leclerc’s confidence issues force Carlos Sainz to step forward. Since the Canadian GP and, above all, since his victory at Silverstone, he has gained in familiarity with the Ferrari F1-75 and it is becoming less and less difficult for him to get a good lap. Not in vain he was the fastest in the first morning free practice and then finished third in the afternoon, behind his teammate and an unexpected Lando Norris, who scored the second time of the day. The McLarens could be the surprise guests of the weekend, since the great result of Sainz’s former teammate and good friend is joined by the fifth time of Daniel Ricciardo, who is half a foot out of the Woking team.

Sainz finished the day with good feelings. “It has been an interesting Friday. The car felt great straight out of the garage in FP1 and we were able to put in some really good laps. For FP2 we tried a couple of changes to the set-up to assess which direction to go for tomorrow and the race. We lost a bit of ‘feeling’, but we are in a good place in terms of balance and pace, “said the Spanish Ferrari driver.

Fernando Alonso, who between the first and second free practice sessions blew out the candles for his 41st birthday at the Alpine motorhome -it is no coincidence that he appeared together with Otmar Szafnauer, the team leader who is singled out because he is one of those who is pushing for replace him with Oscar Piastri-, scored a more than decent sixth time. “It was great to shoot on my birthday in Budapest!” the Spaniard joked. Alonso took half a second from his teammate Esteban Ocon, who did not go beyond 13th place in the time table. Again, it seems that the Spaniard is one point ahead in terms of performance, but everything could change this Saturday. “It was a productive Friday and we tried a few different things in terms of car set-up,” Alonso explained after getting out of the car.

With rain

On a circuit like the Hungaroring, track conditions are key in terms of grip and temperature. It is no coincidence that Pirelli brings its round of softer tires here, although a very busy Saturday is expected. Except for maximum surprise, both the third free practice sessions and the classification will be played in the rain. And it won’t be four drops. It is feared that the water will be of such violence that it will fall in the form of very serious storms that will force the cancellation of the sessions and that it will be decided who will be the ‘poleman’ on Sunday. Formula 1 does not want images like the one in Belgium from last year to be seen again, so a protocol has been established for classification, in case it cannot be played due to rain.

In these conditions everything can change. Some drivers are looking forward to it, in the case of Lewis Hamilton or George Russell, who saw how their Mercedes – the seven-time champion even said that it was “undrivable” – did not even touch the ‘top 5’. In wet conditions on the track, the differences are minimized and can lead to surprises, which in turn will affect the race on Sunday. But there will be time for that. Every day has its eagerness.