Lewis Hamilton set the pace before the rain came down in Hungary, edging Kimi Raikkonen, Bruno Senna and Felipe Massa...
McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton: "It's been a really positive day. I'm very happy. During the sessions we made some useful changes to the car to get it dialled-in, and we're on the right path, but we've still got a bit of work to do. The guys did a fantastic job. We're going to keep pushing, though. I'm on it. I've been on it all year. I feel a lot of support from the fans, here and everywhere, and I think things are looking pretty good this weekend. I'll be focusing on maximising every lap and every opportunity I get out there. Overtaking here is difficult, so qualifying and track positioning will be of paramount importance. Some drivers may do longer runs, some may do shorter runs [in the race]. Either way, Jenson and I will be looking to qualify well and start at or near the front. I love this track, even if overtaking here is a challenge. It's a drivers' circuit, with real character to it - lovely off-camber corners, nice ups and downs - and those elements combine to make it great fun to drive. It just flows. I'm happy with my day's work and I think the guys in the garage will be happy with their day's work too. They certainly should be. Well done, guys!"
Jenson Button: "FP1 was reasonably good for us - we were competitive straight out of the box, in fact. This afternoon, in FP2, we tried a few things to improve our car's balance, and I think we made some decent progress in the end. So I'm pretty happy with the car, all in all, and I think we're pretty competitive around here, but in FP2 we learned that a lot other teams are pretty competitive around here too. As ever, though, it'll be about getting the perfect balance. I reckon we're going to see a fierce battle for victory this weekend. Having said that, we had a good car at Hockenheim, and we should have a good car here too, so we should be up there. As I say, it's much too close to call, though. This circuit is known as a difficult one on which to overtake, but I think it'll be possible to do so in the DRS zone down the pitstraight. Elsewhere it'll probably be tricky to make passing moves stick. But it's a fun circuit to drive on, and of course I scored my maiden Grand Prix victory here, which is always special."
Lotus F1:
Kimi Raikkonen: "It was a normal Friday for me. We did the normal things and tried to make the car as quick as it can be. We were second fastest which was good, and we've managed to improve the setup on my car over the last few races so I've been pretty happy with it. We're just making small improvements, but we're making them all the time and going in the right direction. It's only Friday, but we're hoping for another good day tomorrow."
Romain Grosjean: "Not the best day we've had but not the worst either. The car didn't feel quite as I like it, similar to how it felt in Hockenheim, which made things a bit tricky. I made a mistake running wide on the exit of turn seven in the second session which meant I touched the wall, so a big apology to the guys for that. On a more positive note we now understand a few things which need improving in terms of setup, so hopefully tomorrow these will make a difference and I'll have the confidence to push a bit harder and show the true pace of the car."
Williams:
Bruno Senna: "It was a good afternoon getting a feel for the track conditions and how the tyres were performing. The car was behaving well but we need to keep working. There is good potential in the car though which makes me happy ahead of qualifying tomorrow."
Pastor Maldonado: "It was a busy day for us trying a few different things to help us decide which direction to go regarding set-up for the weekend. We didn't complete all our planned long runs because of the rain this afternoon so it's difficult to say where we are. I'm still feeling confident for the weekend but we have some work to do in practice tomorrow morning to make sure we can improve before qualifying."
Ferrari:
Felipe Massa: "All in all, it was a good day, with the only inconvenient factor being the rain, which arrived halfway through the afternoon, which prevented us doing the planned long run to understand the tyre behaviour, However, it was not just our problem, as everyone found themselves in the same situation. All the same, we did manage to get a reasonably clear idea on tyre performance and on that of the car, but it's really too early to judge where we are compared to the others. There are definitely some cars that are going quickly, as indeed was the case in Hockenheim. But we are well aware that the results of the first day at the Hungaroring always need to be taken with a pinch of salt because at the start of the weekend, the track is always very dirty and the situation changes radically from Friday through to Sunday. Let's see how things go tomorrow. We realise we need to do everything as well as possible to get the very most out of what we have to work with."
Fernando Alonso: "What's to say, the usual Friday, at the end of which it is always difficult to hypothesise on how things will go in qualifying or the race. Even more so when it rains, as happened over the past three race weekends. Because of this afternoon's rain in fact, we did not manage to try the dry tyres over a long run but, at least in the morning we managed to complete the work relating to the aerodynamic updates which we brought here in Hungary. Now it's up to our engineers to do all the analyses to put together the best possible package for the rest of the weekend. Here, qualifying is definitely more important than elsewhere: it will therefore be vital to go into every little detail to be as well prepared as possible for tomorrow. The unknown relating to tyres? It's the same for everyone as was the case in Silverstone and Hockenheim!"
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Friday's Pictures From Hungary
