Formula 1 Racing

Norris leads Verstappen as Leclerc crashes in second practice · RaceFans

Lando Norris, McLaren, Hungaroring, 2024

Lando Norris put McLaren fastest in the second practice session at the Hungaroring after Charles Leclerc spun into a barrier.

The Ferrari driver lost control at the exit of the fast high-speed corner of turn four and crashed into the outside barrier, bringing his session to an early end.

After practice resumed, Norris posted the fastest time of the day with a 1’17.788 on fresh soft tyres. That proved to be the best time of the day, with Max Verstappen the only driver within three tenths of the McLaren by the chequered flag.

Verstappen, running with the fully upgraded Red Bull RB20 this weekend, was just under two tenths faster than his team mate Sergio Perez who ended the session fourth fastest running a portion of the new parts on the RB20. Perez had a lucky escape when he was almost being hit by Zhou Guanyu.

The Sauber driver spun at the exit of turn four having come across the Red Bull driver off the pace. Despite a dramatic high-speed spin, Zhou somehow avoided the Red Bull and the barriers.

First practice pace-setter Carlos Sainz Jnr split the two Red Bulls in third. Back-to-back grand prix winners Mercedes were fifth and seventh with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, respectively, separated by Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

Daniel Ricciardo ended the second session of practice as the eighth-fastest driver and easily the quickest RB. Alexander Albon was ninth for Williams with Fernando Alonso completing the top ten after being held up by team mate Lance Stroll at one stage.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

On a weekend where Sauber introduced their biggest upgrades of the season so far, Valtteri Bottas gave the lowest-ranked team in the championship some hope for the rest of the weekend with the 11th-fastest time. Alpine will be looking to extract more pace out of their car with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly only 14th and 16th, respectively.

The final driver to sit out of their expected position in the session was Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver ended the day only 13th after he came close to emulating Zhou and Leclerc as he almost lost control of his McLaren at the exit of turn four on his push lap.

2024 Hungarian Grand Prix second practice result

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

Browse all 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix articles

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…