Welcome to live coverage of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend on ESPNF1. The first practice session is about 30 minutes away and at the moment the sun is out so we should see plenty of action.

It was a fairly busy day in the paddock on Thursday with Sebastian Vettel playing down the impact of the recent engine map clarification from the FIA. Since Red Bull's engine map was investigated in Germany, the FIA has closed a loophole in the rules which has forced Vettel's team to tweak the way in which it delivers torque over its rev range. But when asked if it would harm his car's performance, the defending champion replied with a firm "No". Full story here.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has said he cannot afford to have more weekends without scoring points after he failed to make the finish in Germany. He's currently 62 points behind Fernando Alonso in the championship chase and in need of a big points haul this weekend.

Will asks: "Do you mind explaining what effect Red Bull's change had on the engine map. I've read reports that it lowers torque at low revs though I'm not sure why you would want this unless it was to improve drivability in the wet at low revs."

The benefit appears to be twofold. The engine map they were running reduced torque at mid-range rpm by retarding the ignition. That will help with driveability (acting in a similar way to a traction control system) but it is also similar to the hot blowing of diffusers we saw last year when the fuel/air mix gets pumped through the combustion chamber and into the exhaust to maintain a flow of gas to the diffuser. By retarding the ignition, the gases can flow at a greater rate when the throttle is further depressed without the excessive torque that would see the rear tyres spin up. Essentially, it should boost downforce out of slow corners, which is the main area where teams have been struggling to regain performance since the ban on blown diffusers over the winter.

Just ten minutes until the start of the session now and the teams are getting ready for the green light. The track will probably be quite dusty to start with as it gets little use outside of this grand prix weekend, but with so many wet sessions this year the teams will be grateful of some dry and hot running.

Rahul asks: "Hi, was reading through the websites and I came across McLaren saying they are bringing updates here too. How is that possible to develop something in 5 days time? Any other team bringing updates for this weekend?"

McLaren have some fairly minor parts coming to the car this weekend after their major upgrade last in Germany. The parts that are coming this weekend, which according to Hamilton are just some small tweaks that won't make a difference, will have been in the pipeline for months so have not been designed and engineered in just five days. The teams have a good idea of what they will bring to each race, so updates are usually planned well in advance and are not reactionary. McLaren have said they will have something new on the car at each weekend until Singapore and most their rivals will be doing the same.

The session has started with eight cars on track. Kimi Raikkonen is among them and is running Lotus' double DRS device again.

Ferrari Tweets: "FP1 has just begun, luckily under a beautiful sun! We need it after two wet Fridays in Silverstone and Hockenheim... "

The start of this session is all about completing an installation lap to make sure all the cars systems are operating properly. Once that has been confirmed the cars are sent back out to start their morning's work.

Several teams also use the installation lap to cover their cars in aero paint and analyse the flow of air over any new bits and pieces.

Ferrari is among them, Tweeting: "We will have a lot of aerodynamic work to do today. "

All the cars have been out on medium tyres in this session. It's unlikely the teams will use the soft compound until second practice unless their weather forecasts predict a lot of rain for the afternoon session.

Raikkonen's back in the garage with his gloves off and placed on the front of his cockpit. The rear bodywork also comes off as his Lotus mechanics set about tinkering with the rear of the car.

Three test drivers are standing in for race drivers this morning. Jules Bianchi is in Nico Hulkenberg's Force India, Valtteri Bottas is in Bruno Senna's Williams and Dani Clos is in Narain Karthikeyan's HRT.

Robert asks: "Hi, glad to be part of the ESPN live coverage, do you think with all this talk that the Lotus cars can perform better under hotter conditions do you think we will be expecting a possible Lotus win this weekend? Would you put money on it?"

Last time I checked the odds were pretty tempting but I haven't put any money down yet. But yes, the Lotus should be well suited to this track and it does work well in hot conditions. The only thing is that they have to qualify on the front two rows to stand a chance and they've struggled to do that this year. Also, the tyre compounds here are quite conservative (soft and medium) so degradation may be easier for teams like Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren to control. After several failed bets this year, the ESPNF1 team have decided that betting on races this year is a rather expensive hobby!

No timed laps yet with just Massa and Raikkonen on track at the moment.

Massa returns to the pits for the team to check his car over before heading straight back out. He appears to be collecting aero data as he has an aero-measuring rake in front of the left sidepod.

Hakan with an interesting stat: "7 previous winners here in Hungary will try to do it again - Heikki Kovalainen will be the underdog (did it in 2008)..."

Of course that was Kovalainen's one and only career win and he rather lucked into it after Felipe Massa's engine went pop towards the end of the race.

Ferrari gives an insight into Massa's job this morning: "Long aero exercise for Felipe, going out and in of the pit-lane for front wing test purpose."

One benefit of Massa not being in the title fight is that he can do the donkey work while Alonso focuses on setup and keeps the miles off his engines.

Kovalainen sets the first complete lap of the Hungaroring this morning with a 1:29.977.

Hinesh asks: "I would like to know that why the safety car was not immediately implied as soon as Massa's front wing went flying in German Grand Prix."

The race director tries to limit the use of the safety car if possible. It's not that unusual for cars to lose front wings on the first lap and there were marshals on the track to clear some of the debris after the cars went through. The only driver to get a puncture as a result was Hamilton, but it was hugely unlucky.

Raikkonen goes fastest with his double DRS equipped Lotus. He sets a 1:25.117 but only he and Kovalainen have set times so far.

Daniele asks: "Honestly, who do you think will drive Ferrari with Fernando next year?"

A very big question. The team have been saying nice things about Massa recently, but unless he starts performing and scoring podiums or wins (assuming Alonso is not in contention) he should be dropped. Perez seems like a likely candidate, and would be my personal choice, but Ferrari seem to want him to serve another year of his apprenticeship at Sauber. Kovalainen has been mentioned as he is highly rated in the paddock but struggling to show his talent in the Caterham.

Vergne and Webber have now set times. Webber has yet to get into his stride and is 2.0s off Raikkonen at the moment.

Lotus are creating a human garage door again in front of Raikkonen's car. It seems a little unnecessary as the car has been and will be snapped by photographers as soon as it enters the pit lane, but never mind.

Hamilton is now second fastest with a 1:25.289.

Vergne runs a little wide at the turn 6 and 7 chicane but gets away with it. He's currently fourth with a 1:25.559.

Hamilton has now gone fastest with a 1:23.941. Button is second, 0.196s off that pace.

Rahul asks: "Lets assume Ferrari decide to sack Felipe. Will it mean the end of his race engineer too? I'm a big fan of Rob Smedley"

That's very unlikely. Race engineers tend to stay at teams long after drivers have gone. What's more, Smedley is very highly rated and Ferrari will want to keep him.

Schumacher is third fastest, 0.438 off Hamilton's time.

Hamilton has improved to a 1:23.552 as McLaren look to confirm the strong pace they showed at Hockenheim.

The McLarens are exchanging fastest laps now. After Button went quickest momentarily, Hamilton hit back with a 1:22.821, 0.378s quicker than his team-mate best.

Schumacher leaves the track at turn 12 after talking to his team on the radio. He's now returned to the pits.

Harmen says: "Felipe only compares somewhat poorly to Fernando most of the time, but so will 2/3 of the grid if he is replaced. There is no match for Fernando in his current form"

Vrijilesh on Massa: "I would seriously want Ferrari to retain Massa. He's their bad luck magnet! I guess that allows all good things to go in Alonso's favour."

Both McLarens are now back in the pits. Vettel and Webber are on track but both are over 1.7s off Hamilton's time.

Benjamin asks: "Will this be a McLaren 1 - 2 weekend?"

I wouldn't read too much into the times set so far as there are plenty of different programmes going on out there. The McLaren is quick but none of the teams have scored a one-two this year so you'd have to say the odds are against it.

Alonso is currently lapping five seconds off the pace in 23rd. No doubt he is working with a high fuel load at the moment.

Ruben asks: "What hampers set up the most? Is it the reduced testing time on track or is it the limit on tyres? Or both?"

Wet weather has been the teams' biggest problem this year. But even when it's dry the track evolves over the course of the weekend, so a set-up that works on Friday might not be what you want on Sunday. I've never heard any of the teams complain about a lack of tyres. Engines are also limited so I'm not sure they would do masses more running with unlimited tyres.

Alonso pops up to fourth fastest with a 1:24.055, 1.234s off Hamilton.

Sauber is making the most of the good weather: "Both C31s on track on medium compound tyres. The track temperature is just over 30. Perfect conditions at Budapest"

Hamilton is back on track. He currently has 13 laps under his belt after roughly an hour of running.

Alonso is making a couple of mistakes as he tries to find the limit around this circuit. But as I type, Hamilton also runs wide at turn one so maybe the track isn't yielding as much grip as the drivers would like.

Milan asks: "What you think who is the best candidate for Massa's seat in Ferrari if he leaves the team at the end of the season?"

I would pick Perez or maybe Kobayashi on a three-year contract to allow them to grow in the team alongside Alonso. But that's not Ferrari's style, the Scuderia tends to prefer proven talent behind the wheel.

The McLaren duo are still comfortable at the top with Schumacher in third and a full second off Hamilton at the moment.

Ferrari Tweets: "Fernando completed the first run with a best time of 1.24.055, P4. Felipe is still running, basically doing also more aerodynamic work."

Maldonado runs wide at turn 10 and into the gravel. He keeps it out of the wall but it's a bit of an odd place to go off.

Ruben asks: "Yes that makes sense, although in times past in the Bridgestone era the teams did a lot of running with their test drivers building up masses of data. How long would it take to understand all the variables, especially with the nature of the tyres now clouding some of the findings?"

A lot of the track testing the teams used to do is now done in simulators by those that have the resources. That gives the teams a base set-up for each circuit when they arrive and then they make tweaks from there. Obviously, that puts an emphasis on having a reliable simulator, which, as you say, is difficult with the current complexities of the Pirelli tyres. And as we've seen this year, there is the potential to get it very wrong (Button in Canada is a perfect example).

Rosberg has improved to third but is now back in the pits. He's 0.807s off Hamilton's best.

A replay shows that Maldonado came across a slow moving Kovalainen and ended up in the gravel after trying to avoid a collision.

Paul asks: "If Perez or even Kobayashi were to move to Ferrari, what are the chances of Kubica being an option for Sauber? Is he still contracted to Lotus? He does have ties with Sauber after all..."

If Kubica is fit enough to return, and he has said he would only do so if he can be back at his best, I wouldn't bet against him going straight back in at Ferrari. But it's difficult to speculate if he will return. He is no longer contracted to Lotus.

Justin says: "….What about Schumacher to Ferrari for one final season before he retires for good. That will allow Vettel to move to Ferrari in 2014 to partner Alonso. Di Resta to Meredes and Massa then goes to Force India."

Button has improved to a 1:22.922 but is now back in the pits. Hamilton still on track with his earlier time of 1:22.821 still unbeaten.

Ruben: "Wouldn't it be great if Pirelli could provide accurate simulation software for the use of the teams?"

I think it's more about accurately simulating how each individual car interacts with the tyres that is the problem. That said, the teams systems are very advanced and usually they tend to get it right.

Bjorn on Massa's potential replacement: "Why not find out the limits of the Ferrari… if they're brave enough to put Maldonado in one… ;-)"

Carlo says: "Its quite ridiculous that almost 30 years after the Bellof tragedy, which denied history one of the potentially greatest formula one rivalries of all time (Bellof/Senna), that teams let drivers risk life and limb in lower formulae; and that drivers would even consider doing so!"

Ponkumar asks: "What is the new upgrade in Kimi's Lotus? Is there any major change in McLaren?"

Lotus is testing its version of the double DRS again. The understanding is that it works like an F-duct to improve the straight-line speed of the car when the DRS is deployed. The team will want it working by Spa and Monza so it might not run in the race this weekend and is only fitted to Raikkonen's car, bot Grosjean's. McLaren have a few small updates but nothing like the upgrade they brought to Hockenheim.

19 cars on track right now with less than 10 minutes remaining. Hamilton still quickest at the moment.

Trent says: "Interesting that Webber pulled off the same move at Eau Rouge in 2011 that cost Bellof his life back then. Amazing how things have changed."

Alonso has now gone third fastest with a 1:23.503 before coming into the pits for a front wing change.

Raikkonen is told that his rear wing and double DRS is "working".

Nearly all the cars are on track and it's looking rather busy out there.

Chico says: "Wouldn't it be nice to see Raikkonen back at Ferrari? Considering his performance aft his comeback it would be a great team mate for Fernando! "

I think Kimi is very happy at Lotus at the moment.

Rohit also asks: "How long is Kimi contracted with Lotus, because he is one of my favorite drivers and I'd love to see him back at Ferrari next year."

He signed a two-year contract when he joined so has one more after 2012.

A very busy morning for Hamilton and Button today with 52 laps completed between them. Just what McLaren needed.

One minute to go and there's no sign of anyone going faster than Hamilton.

Vettel is on a slightly quicker lap at his last attempt. He's currently 15th.

But Vettel returns to the pits on his latest lap and remains 15th.

So McLaren top first practice at the Hungaroring, but they did the same in Hockenheim one week ago. Alonso finished the session roughly 0.5s off Hamilton and Rosberg and Grosjean were the only other drivers to get within a second of the McLaren.

But once again, we've yet to see the best from the Red Bull and the circuit is likely to evolve a fair bit ahead of qualifying tomorrow and even ahead of FP2 this afternoon.

We'll be back for more live coverage in two and a half hours so make sure you join us.