2021 Hungarian Grand Prix - Friday

TYRE GAP

FRIDAY TYRE SUMMARY

• Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas was the fastest driver in the hottest track temperatures experienced all year, with almost 60 degrees centigrade on track and 35 degrees ambient. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was quickest in the slightly cooler morning conditions of FP1. On both occasions, the P Zero Red soft C4 tyre was used to set the best time.
• Despite these very high temperatures, there’s a risk of rain tomorrow and sporadically during the rest of the weekend, which meant that the teams maximised data collection today in dry and hot conditions.
• There was a high degree of track evolution throughout free practice, with the Hungaroring not having been used extensively up to this weekend.
• In some of the hottest conditions ever seen on track, all the compounds stood up extremely well, including the P Zero Red soft C4, which delivered maximum grip.
• Based on the data collected so far, there’s about a 0.7 second difference between P Zero White hard C2 and P Zero Yellow medium C3, as well as a 0.9 second difference between P Zero Yellow medium C3 and P Zero Red soft C4: somewhat more than expected.

FORMULA 3: LATEST NEWS

Arthur Leclerc, the younger brother of Charles, was the fastest driver in Formula 3 qualifying for the first time to lead home a Prema one-two in hot conditions, ahead of championship leader Dennis Hauger. This means that the Monegasque will line up first on the grid for Sunday’s race, while Carlin’s Jonny Edgar takes pole for tomorrow’s opening race by virtue of qualifying 12^th. As per the regulations, just a single compound is used for Formula 3: P Zero Yellow medium in Hungary. This performed well over the short flat-out runs seen in qualifying today, but some degree of tyre management will be needed over the longer race distance if the high temperatures persist – as was seen in free practice earlier. If it rains at any point, the drivers may also face the challenge of dealing with a ‘green’ and slippery track on slick tyres tomorrow or even having to use the wets.

MARIO ISOLA – HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING

“These were some of the hottest track temperatures we can ever remember so thermal degradation was definitely a factor during the longer runs; particularly on the soft compound and on the rear tyres. However, it’s far from certain that the weather will remain the same, with a forecast of rain at some point adding yet another unpredictable element to what is always a strategically complex race. In comparison to last year, the warmer conditions allowed the soft tyre to perform very well over a single lap. Nonetheless, there could be an advantage in starting on the medium tyre for the grand prix, so this will be a consideration for the qualifying strategy. With a bigger gap between medium and soft than we expected for now, getting through the Q2 session on the medium isn’t guaranteed for anybody. So there’s plenty for the teams to think about tonight.”