FP2 - Hamilton retains advantage in Budapest

Lewis Hamilton continued to head the field after Friday afternoon’s second practice session at the Hungaroring, with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg riding shotgun.

There was a fair bit of action over the 90 minutes, with Marussia’s Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi, Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson, McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, Lotus’s Pastor Maldonado, Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo all having off-road moments, though only Kobayashi and Williams’ Felipe Massa spun.

Both Mercedes drivers also had minor offs, but they set the pace on both the medium and the soft Pirelli tyres.

Hamilton continued where he left off in FP1, albeit in much hotter conditions as the track temperature rose from 47 to 55 degrees Celsius. On the medium rubber he recorded 1m 26.161s, 0.386s faster than Rosberg; on the softs he lapped in 1m 24.482s to Rosberg’s 1m 24.720s.

Sebastian Vettel got closest to them with 1m 25.111s, and had a pretty good afternoon as the Red Bull RB10 looked notably smooth and consistent in its track behaviour.

Fernando Alonso remained a threat with 1m 25.437s for Ferrari, with Magnussen on his tail with 1m 25.580s and Kimi Raikkonen within striking distance again on 1m 25.730s in the second Ferrari.

Ricciardo didn’t look his usual sparkling self but was still below 1m 26s with 1m 25.983s which left him just ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas on 1m 25.999s.

Jenson Button complained of braking inconsistency on his McLaren on his way to 1m 26.234s and finished ninth as a troubled Massa completed the top 10 with 1m 26.402s.

Daniil Kvyat moved ahead of Toro Rosso team mate Vergne, with 1m 26.689s to 1m 26.703s, with Nico Hulkenberg 13th for Force India on 1m 26.789s ahead of Adrian Sutil’s Sauber on 1m 26.919s.

Sergio Perez in the second Force India won the close-fought battle for 15th place with 1m 27.013s, but Lotus’s Maldonado and Romain Grosjean were right with him on 1m 27.019s and 1m 27.021 respectively. Then came Esteban Gutierrez in the second Sauber on 1m 27.480s.

Notwithstanding his adventures Kobayashi reasserted himself with 1m 28.370s for Caterham, which left him ahead of the Marussias of Bianchi and Chilton on 1m 28.469s and 1m 28.586s apiece, and Ericsson’s Caterham on 1m 29.036s.