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The first two practice sessions of the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 have begun and this is the first look of the events that are to happen in the qualifying and the race. As always, the track of Budapest which is characterized by its many turns and sharp bends became a challenge for the drivers and the teams who had to struggle to find the best configuration for their cars. The humidity also posed another challenge to the teams especially on the issue of tire management as well as the cooling system. This year’s practice sessions were quite exciting as many teams introduced new features on their cars in a bid to outdo their rivals in the midfield bracket specially. The sessions also provided an opportunity to watch how the championship leaders are performing and whether there is any potential threat to their positions but as usual practice sessions can be quite misleading, as teams may not show their real pace or try out different setups, but still they give a rather good idea of how the teams will be positioned during the next few days.

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Free Practice 1 & 2 Highlights

Ferrari Leads the Pack

The first practice of the Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 was a fierce battle and Ferrari made a statement with Carlos Sainz leading the pack, Sainz had done his lap in 1:18. 713 was quite good, which indicated that Ferrari may have discovered something really good for this circuit, while his teammate, Charles Leclerc, was not far behind and finished third fastest which means that Ferrari was not a one time surprise at Monaco. Carlos Sainz continued his good form from the first practice session with the third fastest time, but Charles Leclerc struggled in the session, Leclerc’s day was also cut short after he spun at turn 4 and hit the barriers and this led to the red flags being raised. This incident will surely add more pressure to the Ferrari mechanics to fix the car for the Saturday’s practice, it also seem they had control the bouncing problem without loosing performance although its just FP1 & FP2 too early to take conclusions.

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Red Bull's Upgrades Show Promise

Verstappen driving the car with Red Bull’s new upgrades was able to outperform one of the Ferraris and came second with a gap of 0.276 seconds behind Sainz. This is quite impressive given that Verstappen was able to set the fastest lap time on the older set of soft tires, but then again this is just too early although in this case its Verstappen making this car fast now that everybody is catching up. It suggests that Red Bull’s upgrades may be quite useful and this could be a major factor over the course of the weekend. Changes to Hungary, primarily the removal of the "shoulder" on the engine cover, this change is to enhance the car’s down force at high speed which is very vital especially at the Hungary circuit, early signs are that these upgrades are good but it is hard to tell their effectiveness until the qualifying and the race.

Mercedes in the Mix

Mercedes had a rather up and down day during the practice sessions for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix with some positives and negatives. In the Free Practice 1 session, George Russell was able to set the fourth fastest time while Lewis Hamilton was only able to get the tenth fastest time. Nevertheless, the difference between Russell who finished fourth and Hamilton, who was tenth, was less than a tenth and a half of a second proving that this season is very competitive, as I mention every other manufacture at this point has copy and improve the RB19. In Free Practice 2, both Mercedes drivers seemed to be lacking speed with Hamilton finishing at the 7th position while Russell at the 8th. This performance has to make one question the form of the Mercedes and whether they are capable of fighting for the podium spots this weekend to continue their great performance and go into a three win streak. The team seems to be struggling with their car setup and their performance in both practice sessions was rather poor compared to the other teams. This may mean that they have to make drastic changes in a short time to be able to rank for the best positions, it has to be said that Mercedes is rather cautious in the first practice sessions and keeps the real pace for itself, little bit of sandbagging probably, so we will see what they are capable of in qualifying and the race.

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McLaren Continues Strong Form

McLaren also maintained their recent good form with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri coming in sixth and seventh respectively. This means that the improvements they have made recently were not a on off affair and unexpected but Lando Norris of McLaren was fastest in FP2 beating even the championship leader Max Verstappen. This performance shows that McLaren car has better than everyone else on the track and creates a close contest for the pole position, at least on a one lap race but then temperature, traffic and strategy are always big part tomorrow Saturday where some times McLaren is lacking. I do hope Lando and Piastri both have great qualifying so we can probably have a seven car race for the podium this weekend?!

Insights and Comparisons

When comparing these practice sessions to the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, it is possible to notice certain changes in the hierarchy. In the previous year, Red Bull was on the front line in both the practice sessions, Verstappen and Perez were leading. This year, Red bull is still dominating the championship while Ferrari and McLaren are giving them a very tough competition with Mercedes recently recovering and becoming a more serious menace. McLaren’s performance has been greatly enhanced as they were in the midfield during last year’s Hungarian GP. While Mercedes, for instance, appears to have regressed this year as they were frequently in the top five during practice last year, very recently James Allison did mention they have come to a big change that was always there and how did could not see it.

As the dust settles on the first day of practice for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix we are left with more questions than answers. Sainz with his Ferrari perform well on both the sessions and could be the team to watch out for in the qualifying and race but Red Bull’s new car and McLaren’s performance means that the title fight is very much open. Every year the Hungary GP presents some special challenges and this year does not seem to be an exception with Ferrari seeking to build on their initial success, Red Bull planning on regaining the lead with their recent upgrades and McLaren planning to keep up their good performance getting closer and closer, we are in for a great qualifying and race. Mercedes only make the situation more interesting as the world waits to see if they can come back from this in a single race, like in any other formula 1 season things can be different in practice and during the qualifying and the race so its just too early to call any favorites but its my opinion that this time we will have Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton once again fighting for pole tomorrow.

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