The 12th round of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship began with practice Friday at the Hungaroring in Budapest as teams prepared for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Two 90-minute sessions – FP1 and FP2 – were run under overcast skies and generally rainy conditions on the 4.381-kilometer (2.722-mile), 14-turn circuit.
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen are utilizing dual aero specs on their respective Haas VF-19 racecars for the third consecutive race weekend, Grosjean’s reverting to the spec he opened the season with in Australia while Magnussen is carrying on with the most recent upgrades he first utilized last weekend in Germany.
Both drivers began FP1 on the Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tire before a light rain sent them to the pits to take on the Green intermediate tire for an exploratory run. As track conditions improved they switched to the Red soft tires, on which they set their fastest laps. Magnussen was fifth on the timesheet with a lap of 1:17.942 and Grosjean 12th with his lap of 1:18.973.
Light rain persisted throughout FP2, making tire decisions a challenge for teams. Grosjean started on Yellow mediums, on which he set the 11th-best time of 1:19.149. Magnussen, who started on White hard tires, clocked a comparable lap of 1:19.178 for 12th on the timesheet. Grosjean and Magnussen ended the afternoon lapping on intermediates, with further rain expected Saturday.
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team ran a total of 103 laps – 51 by Grosjean and 52 by Magnussen – during the two sessions.
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team PR
