Hungarian F1 Grand Prix 2018 Qualifying: Sebastian Vettel Leads FP2

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo led the way in first practice at the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday, while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel  was tops after the second session.

On a good morning for Red Bull, which also saw Max Verstappen finish up in third, Ricciardo was the fastest man on track, posting a time of one minute, 17.613 seconds. Both Red Bull drivers also finished in the top three of the second session.

Ferrari were fastest on the ultrasofts in the second session, while the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished fifth and sixth fastest, respectively, in both sessions.

After his remarkable win in Germany last weekend, Hamilton leads the world championship race by 17 points from Vettel.

The drivers will be back on track later in the day for second practice. Read on for the morning highlights from Hungary.

FP2 Recap

Here are the final standings after the second session:

Track temperatures rose significantly between the two sessions, but the threat of rain kept all of the teams on their toes as well, with everyone eager to get as many laps in as soon as possible.

Hamilton and Mercedes put down an early mark, going a lot faster than Ferrari, who were on the soft compound. In the background, Fernando Alonso's McLaren lost power, and the Spaniard had to return to the pits, a bad sign for the team.

Bottas and Hamilton continued to improve, although the latter had a hairy moment after he ran wide out of a corner, only just gaining control again.

The ultrasofts came out early, with Vettel and the Red Bulls bridging the gap to Mercedes on the fastest compound, while many fans at the track had their eye on the sky and a storm that was quickly approaching:

Said storm saw track temperatures drop once again, leading to faster laps. McLaren couldn't take advantage, as Stoffel Vandoorne didn't find the improvements he had hoped for with a new chasis:

Ferrari's strong showing on the ultrasofts is a good sign ahead of Saturday qualifying, as the Italians continue to find excellent pace. Mercedes shouldn't be too far off the pace, despite what the timeheets showed on Friday, as the Silver Arrows didn't make the most of their runs on the fastest compound.

Temperatures picked up again toward the end of the session, with the clouds moving away from the track, but there was not enough time to make moves up the timesheets.

FP1 Recap

Here are the standings after the first practice session in Hungary:

After taking a penalty to install a new engine in Germany last weekend, it was clear Red Bull's Ricciardo had high hopes for what he could accomplish at the Hungaroring.

Having retired from the race on Sunday having started from the back of the grid, the Australian had the bit between his teeth early on Friday and he was excellent on the soft tyre. With Verstappen also in the top three after a fine lap of his own, the omens are positive for a three-way fight for victory this weekend.

The team Twitter account was pleased with the efforts of their drivers:

What made the performance of the Red Bulls all the more impressive was that they posted their times on the soft tyre. Vettel, by contrast, used the traditionally quicker ultrasoft tyre to split Ricciardo and Verstappen. Raikkonen also donned the purple-trimmed wheels to ensure he was in fourth.

Like the Red Bulls, Hamilton and Bottas also opted against using the quickest compound, so it wasn't a huge surprise to see them trailing the Ferraris.

Still, it wasn't the most straightforward morning for the world champion after his excellent win at Hoffenheim. 

Hamilton had a couple of hairy moments out on track:

The team said there's ground to make up in the afternoon session:

Hamilton made his feelings about the soft tyres clear on the team radio. "These tyres are terrible," the Mercedes man told his engineers, per BBC Sport.

Meanwhile, Haas and Renault both showed promising signs in FP1, as they each had both of their drivers in the top 10.