Ferrari leading the way at Hungary test

Editor

Antonio Giovinazzi showcased Ferrari’s pace by topping the timesheet after the first morning of testing in Hungary.

Giovinazzi, who already had racked up some miles at the Hungaroring in FP2 on Friday with Sauber, put the SF71-H in top spot with a 1:19.648 mid-way through the session – half a second quicker than the fastest lap set at the Hungarian Grand Prix by Daniel Ricciardo.

McLaren’s Lando Norris also broke into the 1:19 barrier and occupied P2 at the lunch break, three tenths behind Giovinazzi.

Nicholas Latifi rounded off a rather youthful top three as he tested out the new, standardised front wings for 2019.

Marcus Ericsson nestled himself into a P4 spot, while Brendon Hartley, in P5, put his strong WEC background to good use by racking up nearly a century of laps in the Toro Rosso.

George Russell in the Mercedes was surprisingly bottom of the lap charts with just 21 timed laps in the bag. The Brit, who has been linked with a move to Williams for 2019, was P6 at lunchtime.

There was plenty of aero running for Ricciardo down in P7, as Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Rowland – who also tested out the new front wing at Williams – and Sean Gelael, on Pirelli tyre testing duty, completing the top 10.

Haas have chosen not to participate over the course of the two-day test.

Day One timesheet (lunch break):

1) Antonio Giovinazzi, Ferrari, 66 laps, 1:19.648

2) Lando Norris, McLaren, 46 laps, 1:19.966

3) Nicholas Latifi, Force India, 66 laps, 1:19.994

4) Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 63 laps, 1:20.081

5) Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso, 94 laps, 1:20.151

6) George Russell, Mercedes, 21 laps, 1:20.231

7) Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 76 laps, 1:20.304

8) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 63 laps, 1:20.826

9) Oliver Rowland, Williams, 43 laps, 1:21.594

10) Sean Gelael, Toro Rosso, 68 laps, 1:21.861

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