Ricciardo is best of the rest in Hungary

Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo was second fastest in free practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday in a day dominated by Mercedes.
Daniel Ricciardo was second fastest in Hungary on FridayDaniel Ricciardo was second fastest in Hungary on Friday
Daniel Ricciardo was second fastest in Hungary on Friday

Ricciardo’s time of 1:21.030 was nearly six tenths of a second slower than pace setter Nico Rosberg’s time in FP2, while Max Verstappen was fourth on a 1:21.770. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (1:21.348) was third.

After the Silverstone test following the British Grand Prix 10 days ago, Mercedes’ updates package appears to have further extended their advantage over the field. However, a spin for world champion Lewis Hamilton saw him lose an hour in the second session as his team fixed the damaged suspension.

Red Bull notoriously run well at the Hungaroring in Budapest. The high downforce nature negates the lack of horsepower in their Tag Heuer-branded Renault engines, and Ricciardo raced to victory there in 2014.

The third free practice session gets underway on Saturday at 10am, with qualifying starting at 1pm UK time.