Aston Martin ended the opening day of practice for the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll in the top 10.
With the Hungaroring one of the lesser-used circuits on the Formula One calendar, the opening session was initially spent clearing the dust and creating a racing line.
After an hour on the Hungaroring circuit in FP1, the track was greener and more representative in the afternoon.
Both drivers began the session on the Medium tyre and made the most of a quiet circuit at the start of the session to set their first times.
Vettel initially placed third following a 1.20.401 effort, while Stroll lapped in 1.19.463 for fifth.
The duo would continue to lap consistently on the mid-range tyre in the first half of FP2 and finished their running on the compound inside the top 10.
Short runs on the Soft tyre yielded their best times of the hour as Vettel took an eventual eighth after lapping in 1.18.228.
Stroll made it two AMR21s in the top 10 after posting a 1.18.230 time in another closely matched midfield battle ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.
The team then turned its focus to longer runs on both the Medium and Soft tyre to help improve its understanding of tyre degradation ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
With track position crucial to success in Hungary, the team will be searching for further gains in tomorrow’s third practice session ahead of qualifying.
Sebastian Vettel
“We had a decent day. If we qualify tomorrow where we finished today, I think that would probably be a good result for us. But, of course, we want more – so let’s see what we can find overnight.
“My fastest lap this afternoon was OK, but I left a bit of a margin. On this track, the driver can make the difference if they have absolute trust in the car: it is one corner after the other, without much time to think, so, if we can get in the groove tomorrow morning, we can aim for a good result in qualifying.”
Lance Stroll
“It was really close out there between the teams, which is to be expected at the Hungaroring. It is always great fun to drive this track, so I am happy to be back.
“We have learned a lot today – particularly with the tyres. There was quite a lot of degradation in the long runs in FP2, which is often the case in Hungary. We will go away and look into it, because tyres and strategy can be really influential here.
“I felt good in the car over a single lap, but there are always areas to improve. It has been a good start to the weekend and I am looking forward to qualifying tomorrow. It could be especially exciting if we get some rain, too.”
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