Hungary Test: Day 2 Recap

Haas F1 Team development driver Santino Ferrucci completed his second and final day of Formula One testing Wednesday by logging 116 laps at the 4.381-kilometer (2.722-mile), 14-turn Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary.

Ferrucci’s fastest lap in the Haas VF-17 was a 1:20.994 earned on a set of Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft tires. It was the 12th-quickest time among the 13 drivers participating in the test, and it was Ferrucci’s best overall time during the two-day test having run solely on Yellow soft tires Tuesday with a best time of 1:21.185.

Haas F1 Team’s 57-lap morning program consisted of ongoing setup work, running exclusively on the Yellow soft compound after an installation tour on White medium tires. Three new sets of softs were utilized among eight runs with Ferrucci setting his quickest time of the morning – a 1:21.235 on his 21st lap – that came on his first timed stint on fresh rubber.

The afternoon session allowed Ferrucci to sample the grippier and subsequently faster Red supersoft tires with three new sets at his disposal. With fresh tires bolted on each time for a pair of seven-lap runs and a five-lap stint, Ferrucci lowered his morning time to secure his quick lap of 1:20.994. He concluded the team’s program by recycling two sets of supersofts followed by runs on two sets of softs.

Ferrucci recorded 116 laps on Wednesday, bringing his two-day total to 218 laps or 955.058 kilometers (593.445 miles).

Quickest on the final day of testing was Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel with a 1:17.124. Williams driver Luca Ghiotto ran the most laps (161).

The test at the Hungaroring was the second and final in-season test for Formula One teams. Formula One rules dictate that two days of each in-season test must be allocated to young-driver training, which is classified as someone who has competed in two or fewer grands prix. Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen participated in the first open test April 18-19 at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, making them ineligible for the test in Hungary.

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“The morning was good. It was nice to wake up and get straight back into the car. We had a couple of really good runs on the Pirelli softs with good balance in the car. In the afternoon, we switched to supersofts. We were just doing more development for future race weekends. We made a lot of forward progress, especially with the car and how the tires start off. I’m really happy with the team and I think we did a really good job.”

The FIA Formula One World Championship enters its summer shutdown before returning to action Aug. 25-27 for the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The FIA Formula 2 Championship will also be a part of the race weekend, with a pair of races Aug. 26-27. Ferrucci will compete in both F2 races for Team Trident, and when not in the F2 paddock, he will be embedded with Haas F1 Team during practice, qualifying and the race.