FP1: Mercedes blitz their rivals in Budapest

It may have only been first practice but there were ominous signs from Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were 1.6s quicker than their nearest rival in Hungary.

Overnight rain and a damp track meant Formula 1 made a slow start to the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend as the drivers waited until the conditions had improved enough for slicks before laying down lap times.

As the track dried out, Nico Rosberg – with his new Mercedes contract in the bag – lowered the benchmark to a 1:22.801. That time was just 0.8s down on Lewis Hamilton’s pole position time from 2015.

Hamilton lined up in second place, 0.277s short of his team-mate’s best, while Daniel Ricciardo was third for Red Bull Racing as the session hit the 40-minute mark when all the drivers to hand their first set of tyres back to Pirelli.

The second half of the session was again dominated by Mercedes as Rosberg and Hamilton switched over to the supersoft Pirellis. The German laid down a 1:21.584 before Hamilton responded with a hat-trick of fastest sector times for a 1:21.347. The Brit’s time was over six-tenths …

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