Hungarian Grand Prix: Practice Recap

Round 13 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship began with Friday practice at the Hungaroring, Budapest as teams prepared for Sunday’s 70-lap Hungarian Grand Prix.

Oliver Bearman was back in the VF-24 for the fourth of six planned FP1 practice sessions in 2024 – the 19-year-old British driver confirmed earlier this month as one of the team’s drivers for the 2025 season. Bearman, a member of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, partnered Kevin Magnussen in the opening session with Nico Hulkenberg vacating his seat for FP1.

With air temperature hitting 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and track temperature peaking at 58 degrees Celsius (136.4 degrees Fahrenheit), the searing conditions proved to be an added challenge as teams looked to optimize their set-ups. Bearman and Magnussen ran identical tire programs, starting with the Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tire for a baseline stint, followed by a switch onto the Red soft compound. The softer rubber produced a best lap of 1:20.295 (P19) for Magnussen with Bearman clocking a 1:20.371 (P20).

FP2 in late afternoon saw a drop in track temperature – down to 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 degrees Fahrenheit) while air temperature remained consistent throughout the day. The tire program echoed the earlier run schedule, with Hulkenberg returning to his half of the garage, both cars starting the 60-minute session on medium rubber before qualifying sims on the softs. Magnussen enjoyed a more competitive outing posting a 1:18.315 (P6) while Hulkenberg ran a 1:18.791 (P15). High-fuel runs on the medium compound closed out Friday’s track activities.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team ran a total of 103 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 – Magnussen (51), Bearman (27), Hulkenberg (25).



Oliver Bearman:

“It’s always good fun being back in the car for FP1 with the team. They were very interesting conditions, the hottest track I’ve ever experienced, and that made it quite tough from inside the car, and not just for me, but for the tires as well. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and can’t wait for the next one although that’s a long time away.”  

Nico Hulkenberg:

“Only FP2 in the car for me today, but the session went okay. You’re always a little bit behind and tight on time, and the red flag cut things a bit short, but it is what it is. The feeling in the car wasn’t too bad from the get-go, so that’s the best thing to take away. We’re all pretty close together again and we know overtaking is difficult around here, so track position is king tomorrow.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“In FP1 we weren’t very quick but we seemed to pick up the pace for FP2. The track was slightly cooler so maybe that had an impact – I’m not sure – but we were a lot more competitive and hopefully we can keep that for tomorrow. We’re doing our thing, it’s been going well lately, and we want to keep it going. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t keep the form, however the field is so tight that one weekend you’re going to be up there and another weekend perhaps not. We’ve got to make the best of it when we have the pace to score points.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“Kevin had a pretty severe brake issue in FP1, so he had a bit of damage on the car and hence we couldn’t get much information from that session. Ollie did a decent job in FP1. It was pretty difficult with track temperature being 58 degrees and we ran medium and soft tires, but on both of them Ollie just got one lap. There was very little opportunity for him to explore the car that session but considering that, he did a good job again. In FP2, things were a bit better as Kevin was happier with the car, and although his brakes still weren’t great, his low-fuel lap time was decent. Nico could’ve done something very similar I think but he had traffic on his flying lap. On high-fuel, as you can see, everyone was struggling with degradation so we also have some work to do there.”

Today's Data:

Event: Free Practice 1 & 2 for the Hungarian Grand Prix – Friday July 19
Location: Hungaroring, Budapest
Layout: 4.381-kilometer (2.722-mile), 14-turn circuit 
FP1 & FP2 Weather: Sunny
Drivers: Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen

Free Practice 1 (FP1) Rundown:

Magnussen: 19th overall (1:20.295), 27 laps 
Bearman: 20th overall (1:20.371), 27 laps 
Fastest: Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari (1:18.713)

Free Practice 2 (FP2) Rundown:

Magnussen: 6th overall (1:18.315), 24 laps  
Hulkenberg: 15th overall (1:18.791), 25 laps
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:17.788)