Mercedes ends Hungarian F1 test fastest

Mercedes has ended the second and final day of testing at the Hungaroring fastest courtesy of test driver George Russell.

The Englishman banked a 1:15.575 to narrowly beat Kimi Raikkonen’s best effort for Ferrari by just 0.074s.

“Day two ran very smoothly and was a much more productive day for the team and me,” said Russell.

“We did some runs on the HyperSoft tyre, which was an incredible experience for me.

“I had never driven that tyre before, nor a Formula One car in anything other than a race setup.

“That was a great experience and it puts a smile on my face that we achieved the fastest lap ever around the Hungaroring.

“All in all, it’s been two productive and positive days and I can’t wait for the next opportunity to drive an F1 car again.”

Third fastest was Red Bull test driver Jake Dennis, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi who had switched from Ferrari to Sauber following the opening day’s running.

Raikkonen proved quickest in the morning before briefly exchanging fastest times with Russell, until the Mercedes driver to bolted on a set of hypersoft tyres to record the best lap of the two-day test.

Two red flags during the course of the day were both triggered by Force India’s Nikita Mazepin, who stopped on track during both morning and afternoon sessions.

The latter stoppage was a result of smoke coming from the car, though once recovered he was able to return to the circuit for the final minutes of the day.

“We went through all our data and information-gathering program in the morning, but unfortunately we had a couple of technical issues that cost us track time later in the day,” explained Force India’s chief race engineer, Tom McCullough.

“The crew did well to replace the affected parts and we were able to catch up and bring forward our test program, while giving our development driver some valuable experience behind the wheel. ”

In total 11 drivers took to the circuit, with Toro Rosso again performing tyre testing for Pirelli with both its regular drivers, Pierre Gasly, and Brendon Hartley.

They, together with Raikkonen, were the only race drivers to take to the circuit, the balance of the field made of up of test and reserve drivers.

That saw Lando Norris in action for McLaren, Artem Markelov for Renault, and Robert Kubica for Williams.

With the Hungarian F1 test concluded, teams will return to base for the summer break, returning for the Belgian Grand Prix on August 24-26.

Result: Hungarian Formula 1 testing, Day Two