“Something not as it should be” leaves Piastri chasing answers

It was an interrupted day for the Australian whose entry into opening practice was delayed.

Piastri lost around 10 minutes of the first free practice session as the team addressed an issue with his car, though in reality it cost him little has he banked 25 laps in the session.

His best time was good enough for seventh, though he fell to 13th in the day’s second hour of running.

Free Practice 2 was interrupted by a red flag caused by Charles Leclerc crashing at Turn 4, while Piastri’s session was again interrupted as mechanics worked on his car – this time the floor.

He completed a total of 19 laps, improving on his Free Practice 1 best by six-tenths but slipping back three-tenths versus the front of the field – which was headed by McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.

“A mixed day,” Piastri admitted.

“I think FP1 was pretty good, apart from the little reliability issue we had at the start.

“FP2, just need to understand what happened there because something was clearly not as it should be.

“Just need to go through that and hopefully we’ll be somewhere towards the front.”

The issue which delayed his Free Practice 1 appearance was an isolated incident and did not reappear for the balance of the day.

Work on the floor of his car in the latter implied, but was not outright admitted, damage over the harsh Hungaroring kerbing.

He wouldn’t be alone, with Alex Albon damaging a turning vane on his car after riding the kerbs at Turn 11, while bottoming on the exit of Turn 4 is what speared Leclerc into the barriers.

“The stuff from FP1 was not an issue after that,” Piastri explained.

“I think FP2, we still just need to understand what exactly it was that made it so difficult.”

Those issues aside, McLaren appears on the pace in Hungary.

Norris demonstrated solid single-lap pace in Free Practice 2 to head the session, though Red Bull Racing looks to have it covered on longer runs.

Nonetheless, Piastri remains optimistic of another strong qualifying result on Saturday.

“Hopefully we should be up towards the front,” Piastri said of his expectations.

“We looked competitive in FP1, Lando looked competitive in FP2.

“Hopefully we can get both of us back up there tomorrow.”

A final hour of practice remains in Hungary ahead of qualifying at 16:00 local time (midnight AEST).