Hungarian GP: Lando Norris tops red flag-interrupted FP2 after big Charles Leclerc crash

Charles Leclerc had to head back to the pit lane early after a crash in FP2 for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris showed strong one-lap pace in FP2 for the Hungarian Grand Prix to pip Max Verstappen to top spot on Friday, though running had been interrupted for 15 minutes after a significant impact for Charles Leclerc.

Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and George Russell rounded out the top five, though the impact for Leclerc on the exit of Turn 4 required a lengthy delay to proceedings as barriers were repaired, though the Ferrari driver reported he was okay after a high-speed impact.

Hungarian Grand Prix: Lando Norris tops FP2 after Charles Leclerc crashes

After a scorching hot first practice session in Budapest saw the Ferrari duo either side of Verstappen, second practice took place with the Hungaroring still with ambient temperatures above 30°C in the late afternoon sun.

Medium tyres were the early order for the drivers as it was Sergio Perez who topped the early times on a 1:18.568, already faster than Carlos Sainz in FP1 on softs, while his team-mate reported back that his brakes were “not biting” as he went six tenths slower.

As ever in FP2, however, the representative times would come later in the session as the switch to soft tyres would come – with this being an opportunity to see if the teams’ upgrades are working as planned over one lap.

Before that could happen, however, there was a red flag stoppage as Charles Leclerc crashed at the high-speed left-hander of Turn 4.

He climbed out of his car and told his team he was okay, but it was a hefty impact after running wide onto the exit kerb, sending his Ferrari into a spin on the grass, turning twice while skidding before colliding with the wall.

The Medical Car was deployed and brought Leclerc back to the pit lane, though he appeared in good spirits as he walked himself back to his garage, though a 15-minute delay would leave a tight squeeze for the run plans for FP2 as the barriers on the exit of Turn 4 were repaired – but the main thing, of course, is that the Ferrari driver seemed unharmed.

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As such, the drivers headed straight out on soft tyres when the action got back underway to get the feel for push laps at the Hungaroring in representative conditions.

The two Mercedes drivers were the first to cross the line quicker than Perez’s initial benchmark, but Norris clocked a 1:17.788 to go half a second faster than the Mercedes duo.

There was almost another collision at Turn 4 however, with Zhou Guanyu dropping his Sauber on the exit kerb, spinning a full 360° before catching his car towards the entry of Turn 5.

Zhou cried foul for Perez running ahead of him, while the Red Bull driver seemed surprised at the spinning car coming off in front of him.

But with that came an abrupt switch to race simulations as the teams looked to make the most of the curtailed running, with Norris topping the standings ahead of Verstappen, Sainz, Perez, Russell and Kevin Magnussen making it five teams in the top six.

Hungarian Grand Prix 2024: FP2 classification

1 Lando NORRIS McLaren 1:17.788
2 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull +0.243
3 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.397
4 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull +0.467
5 George RUSSELL Mercedes +0.506
6 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas +0.527
7 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.575
8 Daniel RICCIARDO RB +0.583
9 Alexander ALBON Williams +0.726
10 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +0.731
11 Valtteri BOTTAS Kick Sauber +0.798
12 Logan SARGEANT Williams +0.823
13 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.830
14 Esteban OCON Alpine +0.966
15 Nico HULKENBERG Haas +1.003
16 Pierre GASLY Alpine +1.100
17 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +1.391
18 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +1.498
19 Yuki TSUNODA RB +1.818
20 Guanyu ZHOU Kick Sauber +2.279

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