F1 News: Ferrari’s Sainz Jr. tops Practice 1 for 2024 Hungarian GP

In stifling hot heat, Carlos Sainz Jr. turned a lap of 1m18.713s in his #55 Ferrari to top opening practice for the 2024 Hungarian GP at the Hungaroring in Budapest.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Ferrari brought new upgrades to their floor here, and they appear to be working so far. Sainz’s fast lap was 0.276s faster than the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

Red Bull also brought major upgrades here and from the cockpit the car appears to be handing well, but he is not fastest. It is possible the Red Bull was carrying more fuel or the engine was turned down.

Charles Leclerc was third fastest in the #16 Ferrari, 0.298s behind his teammate Sainz.

George Russell was the faster of the two Mercedes  drivers in 4th, 0.424s behind while Guanyu Zhou who is driving for his job for next year, rounded out the top-5 for Sauber.

What did we learn?

Ferrari looked good, much better than they have of late – especially in the hands of Sainz, despite the Spaniard admitting that the speculation regarding his future has distracted him from his on-track performance.

Verstappen has more pace in the car, after not setting his fastest lap time when his tires were brand new, and once again Mercedes seemed to be in the mix.

2024 Hungarian GP Practice 1 Results