2024 F1 Hungarian GP FP1 and FP2: What did we learn?

The first day of the F1 Hungarian GP is done and dusted, and there are some very interesting takeaways. The day ended with Lando Norris at the top of the timesheets, with a lap time that was much quicker than what Max Verstappen in P2 put together. The Red Bull driver was around two and a half tenths slower than the McLaren driver.

In P3, Carlos Sainz was the sole Ferrari representative, as Charles Leclerc had a massive shunt. In P4, Sergio Perez enjoyed a strong run for a change, with Mercedes driver George Russell in P5.

The race weekend has seen multiple teams employ an approach of both drivers using alternate packages. The most important bit of the F1 Hungarian GP race weekend is going to be qualifying.

With Friday in the rearview mirror and looking ahead to qualifying on Saturday, what did we learn from FP1 and FP2? Let's find out as we take a look at the key learnings of the day.

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2024 F1 Hungarian GP FP1 and FP2: Key Takeaways

#1 Red Bull's upgrade dilemma

Sergio Perez looked far more competitive against Max Verstappen. While it should be considered encouraging for the Mexican, it raised question marks over how good the upgrades are on Red Bull. The team have two drivers with a visibly different car this weekend, with Verstappen alone running the upgraded version.

Has that upgraded version really been an upgrade, though? More often than not we've not seen Perez be as close to Verstappen as he has been at the Hungarian GP. That should make the team pause a bit to try and evaluate what has really happened with the car.

#2 McLaren look formidable

Whenever one switches to Lando Norris' onboard during the Hungarian GP FP1 and FP2, you can see how hooked the car looks around the track. This is the beauty of the McLaren these days, as the car tends to work on all tracks and doesn't appear to have too many weaknesses.

The Hungarian GP FP1 and FP2 also showed the same thing when it came to lap times, as Norris did a brilliant job behind the wheel of a compliant car. After the first day, even though it's tough to pinpoint which team is where, it's quite clear that McLaren will likely be in the hunt.

#3 Ferrari and Mercedes are a step behind

Mercedes appear to come alive in general when the temperatures fall. The Hungarian GP provides the opposite, and the car appears to not have the final 3-4 tenths, at least over a lap. The German team's long-run pace is still comparable to the top-two (Red Bull and McLaren), but it appears that the elevated temperatures are hurting the team.

Ferrari, meanwhile, are where they have been in the last few races, i.e., a step behind the front-running pace. From Charles Leclerc's lap times and body language, it's clear that he has found it tough to truly extract the pace from the car, something that appears to come naturally to Carlos Sainz.

Overall, Ferrari have found its home as the fourth fastest team, and that's where it finds itself.

#4 Haas looks good once again and so does RB

Daniel Ricciardo has looked comfortable in RB this weekend, while Yuki Tsunoda didn't have the best of runs at the Hungarian GP FP2. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg wasn't too comfortable with the Haas in FP2, while Kevin Magnussen climbed his way to P6.

It's a positive for Haas that the car appears to work on the slow to medium-speed track, and it will likely be in the battle with Red Bull for points this weekend. One can, though, forget that P6-finish heroics from Nico Hulkenberg, as that's going to take a lot of things falling into place.

#5 Tyre degradation and race pace will be pivotal this weekend

Finally, looking at what happened to the Red Walled soft tyre after just one push lap, it's safe to say that tyre degradation and race management are going to be pivotal this weekend.

Lest we forget, at the 2022 Hungarian GP, Charles Leclerc lost what appeared to be a certain race win due to wrong tyre strategy. The race on Sunday is not going to be straightforward, but hints of what it could be were there in FP1 and FP2.