- Hungarian GP - FP2
Hamilton quickest again in FP2
Lewis Hamilton topped Friday practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Nico Rosberg as the two Mercedes drivers prepared for round 11 of their championship battle.
Hamilton was 0.238s faster than Rosberg on his best lap on soft tyres, although Rosberg had the upperhand in the middle sector. Some of Rosberg's radio conversations were broadcast during the session, with the Mercedes driver asking for driving advice from his pit wall in the closing laps of his final long run. Sebastian Vettel was Mercedes' closest rival, but was still 0.629s shy of Hamilton around the 4.381km Hungaroring.
Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest in the Ferrari and 0.955s off the lead Mercedes, while Kevin Magnussen's impressive form looks set to continue as he hauled his McLaren up to fifth, but also blotted his copybook when he took a trip through the gravel at the chicane. Kimi Raikkonen was sixth fastest and 0.3s off his Ferrari team-mate Alonso, but managed to complete more laps, with 30 in total to the Spaniard's 26.
Daniel Ricciardo appeared to be struggling with his Red Bull, completing just nine laps before a long spell in the garage while other drivers were on their hotlaps. When he returned to the track with set-up changes in place he reported that the car was "still a handful" as he struggled with oversteer.
Valtteri Bottas was eighth fastest and the highest-placed Williams after the team's strong performance at recent races, although it is not unusual for the team to wait until Saturday before showing its true hand. Felipe Massa was tenth in the second Williams, but spun at the chicane during his quick run on the soft compound tyres. Jenson Button split the two Williams in ninth place and was nearly 0.7s off his team-mate Magnussen.
The Toro Rossos of Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne were roughly 0.3s off the top ten but ahead of Nico Hulkenberg's Force India in 13th. Adrian Sutil was 14th fastest as Sauber appear to be building on its improved performance now that FRIC suspension has been removed from the cars. Kamui Kobayashi was among the few drivers to have a spin during the session when he lost the rear of his Caterham at Turn 8, but managed to keep the car out of the barriers.
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