#63 George Russell, (GRB) AMG Mercedes Ineos during the Hungarian GP, Budapest 20-23 July 2023 at the Hungaroring, Formula 1 World championship 2023.

F1: Russell tops rain-hit opening Hungarian GP practice

Max Verstappen sat out the session, enabling Mercedes driver George Russell to top wet opening practice for the Hungarian GP.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

After the heavy rain shower that hit the track moved through, Russell turned a lap of 1m38.795s on Intermediate Pirelli Rain Tires to top McLaren Rookie Oscar Piastri by 0.359s.

Lance Stroll was third for Aston Martin, 1.218s behind.

Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top-5.

With Saturday and Sunday expected to be dry, setting the fast time on a wet track in Practice 1 is likely a complete waste of time.

Sergio Perez stuffed his newly upgraded #11 Red Bull RB19 into the barriers at Turn 5 on his first lap out and the Red Bull team is now scrambling to fix the car before Practice 2 at 11:00am ET.

Under pressure to keep his Red Bull ride, Sergio Perez crashed on his first lap in Practice 1 for the 2023 Hungarian GP.
Under pressure to keep his Red Bull ride, Sergio Perez crashed on his first lap in Practice 1 for the 2023 Hungarian GP.

This trip to the tires just about puts an end to Perez’s time at Red Bull when his contract is up, which is unfortunate. Until the last handful of races he’s done as well, or better, than anyone against Verstappen.

The past six races, he has choked badly. Max Verstappen’s performance has demoralized him.

Just 13 drivers set times in a messy session, two red flags interrupting proceedings that were already disrupted by rain. More to come this afternoon, then, as everyone starts to make up for lost time.

Practice 1 Results

POSĀ  DRIVERĀ  NAT. TEAMĀ  TIME
1 George Russell GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m38.795s
2 Oscar Piastri AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m39.154s
3 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant 1m40.013s
4 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m40.277s
5 Fernando Alonso ESP Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant 1m40.687s
6 Valtteri Bottas FIN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1m41.032s
7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m41.142s
8 Zhou Guanyu CHN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1m41.363s
9 Logan Sargeant USA Williams Racing 1m41.416s
10 Nico Hulkenberg GER MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m42.706s
11 Kevin Magnussen DEN MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m42.906s
12 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m45.575s
13 Alex Albon THA Williams Racing 1m47.407s
14 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Scuderia AlphaTauri No Time Set
15 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari No Time Set
16 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Bull Racing No Time Set
17 Esteban Ocon FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team No Time Set
18 Pierre Gasly FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team No Time Set
19 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing No Time Set
20 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team No Time Set