Hamilton nips Verstappen and Vettel in opening practice for Hungarian GP

Lewis Hamilton in the Hungaroring paddock

In a session that saw rain showers hit the Budapest track during opening practice for the Hungarian GP, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was quickest at 1m17.223s

That time was 0.165s faster than Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, and 0.166s faster than Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari.

The reigning world champion seems back on form after his distinctly lackluster performance last weekend, although it wasn't plain sailing for Mercedes, with Bottas missing nearly the entire session with a PU issue.

Verstappen spun twice

"Unbelievable," fumes the Dutchman after he lost control into Turn 12, sliding off rearwards. "It's so sensitive, you just keep sliding on entry." Clearly Verstappen hasn't found a set up quite to his liking just yet after his 2nd spin.

PU Change for Bottas

UPDATE: We will do a PU swap with Valtteri as a problem with the current unit has been identified. We are swapping in the other PU already in the pool. This will allow us more time to trace the problem outside the car. #HungarianGP #FP1 pic.twitter.com/qdHXH1xARo

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) August 2, 2019

Practice 1 Results

POS	NO	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:17.233	+0.000s	41
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:17.398	+0.165s	28
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:17.399	+0.166s	25
4	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:17.682	+0.449s	25
5	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:17.942	+0.709s	31
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:18.188	+0.955s	29
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:18.417	+1.184s	31
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	1:18.531	+1.298s	34
9	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	McLaren Renault	1:18.702	+1.469s	23
10	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	1:18.787	+1.554s	32
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:18.894	+1.661s	30
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	1:18.973	+1.740s	32
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	1:18.982	+1.749s	33
14	23	Alexander Albon	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	1:19.223	+1.990s	28
15	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Bwt Mercedes	1:19.325	+2.092s	20
16	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	1:19.488	+2.255s	24
17	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	1:19.649	+2.416s	33
18	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point Bwt Mercedes	1:19.722	+2.489s	34
19	88	Robert Kubica	Williams Mercedes	1:20.322	+3.089s	30
20	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	No Time	–	2