World champion feeling "a million times better" after illness as he sets fastest Friday time; But are improving Red Bull right with Merc?
Saturday 3 August 2019 12:06, UK
Lewis Hamilton believes Red Bull are growing in strength and power after they shared the spoils with Mercedes on a weather-disrupted opening day of practice at the Hungarian GP.
Hamilton declared he felt a "million times better" back in the Mercedes W10 after battling an illness in Germany last weekend, with the world champion posting the fastest time across Friday's two sessions.
His quickest lap of the day came in Practice One, with Red Bull later setting the pace in P2, albeit on faster tyres, before rain arrived in Budapest to compromise teams' preparations for the weekend and settle the timesheet early.
"What people need to remember is that it's a multi-championship winning team, they've always had a very good car," said Hamilton of Red Bull.
"They have got Adrian Newey there who is one of the best designers there is in the sport.
"They had a slump with a little bit less power, and they had a period of time when they had a little bit less downforce than most people, but they've definitely crept back up and started to utilise its car more.
"Both drivers are now starting to put in good performances and they're there. It's clearly a very good car and we are in a period of time where it suits them."
Slower-speed circuits such as the Hungaroring, Monaco and Singapore have tended to be earmarked as 'Red Bull tracks' since the current engine era began but Hamilton reckons upcoming power venues such as Spa and Monza might begin to present a different picture.
"Now they have a new power unit they're not lower than us on power, I think in some places they have got more power than us," claimed Hamilton. "So it will be interesting to see how they go in those other races."
Are Merc now the team to beat in Budapest?
But is the established picture changing at this track too?
In recent years, Hungary had been seen as a relative 'leveller' among F1's leading three teams with Mercedes' general superiority not always transferring to slower-speed tracks. But with the W10 excelling in slower-speed corners in 2019, the Silver Arrows appear the team to beat.
"The balance seems good, so no real issues," said Hamilton. "We've got a couple of small tweaks to make but I was surprised this morning to see that we were close to the Red Bulls and Ferraris so hopefully that remains the same through the weekend."
Team-mate Valtteri Bottas lost most of his dry-running time with an engine change in P1, but still said: "At least when I was in the car it felt good."
Meanwhile, Both Red Bull drivers admitted it was "difficult to draw conclusions" from Friday's rain-affected running but, after finishing both sessions either ahead or within striking distance of Mercedes, Verstappen and Gasly also admitted they are expecting the weekend to be tight.
"We seem to be competitive, I still expect Mercedes to be a little bit ahead of us but [Saturday] will be an interesting day," Verstappen, who is still without an F1 pole, told Sky Sports.
"It's all pretty close."
Verstappen added: "It was a good day for us. We are competitive so that's very positive."
Gasly, although aided by being on the softest tyre when setting the fastest time in P2, was similarly encouraged by his team's pace around the Hungaroring as he looks to bounce back after a poor German GP.
"Mercedes are really fast," he admitted. "They are as strong as we expected. Ferrari didn't really show their full pace but we know Ferrari, we know they are going to be there.
"It's going to be close - we know the battle will be tight."
Ferrari a threat or third-fastest?
Chasing more downforce from their SF90, Ferrari are potentially on the backfoot in Budapest with the twisty layout exposing their 2019 Achilles' heel.
"Overall it hasn't been an easy day. I've been struggling quite a lot with the balance so we need to keep working on my side to try and improve that," said Charles Leclerc, who was seventh quickest in the disrupted P2.
"Just struggling with overall grip. We need to try and understand what's going on to try and help me a little bit and I'll try and work on my driving also to do a big step."
Sebastian Vettel added: "It's clear what the car needs now we need to fix it. That's the hard bit."
Sky F1's Karun Chandhok predicted: "Ferrari hace brought an update, some bits and pieces ion the bargeboard, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them as the third quickest team this weekend."
Saturday, August 3
7.55am: F3 Qualifying
9am: F2 Race One
10.45am: Hungarian GP Practice Three Build-up
11am: Hungarian GP Practice Three
12.10pm: Paddock Walkabout
1pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying Build-up
2pm: HUNGARIAN GP QUALIFYING
3.30pm: The F1 Show
3.45pm: F3 Race One - Live on Red Button
4pm: F3 Race One
Sunday, August 4
8.55am: F3 Race Two (Simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event)
10.15am: F2 Race Two
10.30pm (Sky One): The F1 Show
11.40am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Hungarian GP: Pit Lane Live
1,30pm: Hungarian GP: On The Grid
2.10pm: THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX LIVE! (Simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event)
4pm: Hungarian GP Paddock Live
5.30pm: Hungarian GP Highlights
6.30pm: Hungarian GP Best Bits
7pm: Hungarian GP Race Rerun
Don't miss the next instalment of F1 2019 at the Hungarian GP this weekend on Sky Sports F1 - the final race before the summer break. Find out how to watch all the 2019 season live.
