Ferrari hit the front for the first time this season, but seven drivers - including Hamilton - do not set time in wet weather; forecast for mixed conditions continues into Saturday and Sunday
Friday 17 July 2020 21:28, UK
Sebastian Vettel set the pace for under-pressure Ferrari in a very wet second practice session at the Hungarian GP.
But world champion Lewis Hamilton was one of seven drivers not to set a lap time, with the rain making the 90-minute session largely unrepresentative.
Valtteri Bottas did complete a lap Mercedes, and finished 0.272s back on Vettel on intermediate tyres, with Carlos Sainz third for McLaren.
Vettel's best lap of 1:40.464 in the wet was 33 seconds slower than Hamilton's morning pace in the dry, when Mercedes underlined their status as favourites for the weekend.
Racing Point team-mates Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez were fourth and fifth respectively, with Pierre Gasly returning to the track in sixth for AlphaTauri after losing the entire morning session.
There is a threat of the wet weather continuing into Saturday, which could create the prospect of a second consecutive rain-hit qualifying session.
Like Mercedes, Red Bull sat out the majority of the session but Max Verstappen did complete some late laps in the RB16 and finished seventh fastest.
Although the afternoon rain meant the opening day as a whole was not especially representative of the likely pecking order for the weekend, Mercedes had still laid down an ominous-looking marker in the dry opening session.
Hamilton and Bottas were half a second clear of the pack despite using harder tyres than the cars directly behind them, the Racing Points.
"It was a great first session," said Hamilton, chasing an eighth win at the circuit this weekend. "We got everything we needed to do [done].
"It's a shame that it has rained today. It's strange to think that we're in summer yet we're faced with this weather the last two weekends. So it didn't really leave a lot for us to do in that [second] session."
Red Bull are expected to be Mercedes' challengers again but they appeared to run more conservatively in morning practice, when the team tested some additions to their car.
"I would just say don't take too much from it," said Hamilton of Mercedes' morning advantage.
"Everyone is doing something different, a different programme out there in terms of wing, and fuel and engine, and all these kind of things. But we got through what we needed to get through.
"It was feeling ok. I think it's going to be a lot closer when we get to actual P3 and into qualifying. There was some work to do to it [the car], so we did some work but then it rained, and we won't know until we get another dry session."
Verstappen admitted he was "not so happy" with the balance of his RB16 but added: "Luckily we have a night to have a look at it, make some changes, and try to do better tomorrow."
Watch the Hungarian GP live only on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Sunday's race begins at 2.10pm. Get Sky F1 for an extra £10 a month now.
