McLaren delighted with its pace in Hungary

They were the surprises of the first two test sessions at the Hungaroring. Interspersed between Ferrari and Red Bull, both McLaren were positioned at the top of the timesheet. Already in good shape for EL1, Lando Norris et Daniel Ricciardo confirmed during Free Practice 2, with the 2nd (+0″217) and 5th time (+0″427) respectively. Only beaten by Charles Leclerc On Friday afternoon, the Briton admitted that McLaren had perhaps shown its game a little more than its rivals.

" It's good. The car has just been very good from the start, it has worked well. I felt comfortable, said Lando Norris. But today we may have outperformed, because we pushed a little more than our opponents. We are certainly not fighting for the positions of Ferrari and Red Bull, but we seem to be in a good position. »

On a tortuous and winding track which seems to better suit the MCL36, the two drivers of the British team are more at ease in Hungary. A nice progression compared to the pace shown at Le Castellet, in France. For Daniel Ricciardo, very close to his teammate during FP2, optimism is required before the rest of the weekend. “It was a pretty competitive day, but obviously you don’t know what the others are doing in FP2, indicated the Australian. But we were also quite competitive in FP1. I hope that means we are really fast this weekend. (…) Generally on a lap, I feel like we had a decent car. We got off to a good start. »

McLaren remains cautious before the rain

If the British team can be delighted with its pace displayed on Friday, the weather could change the situation on Saturday and Sunday. Heavy showers are expected at the Hungaroring for the rest of the weekend. With a limited stock of parts, McLaren did not want to take any risks on Friday. “ We don't have any new [improvements], it's just what we had last weekend [in France]. Better not to damage them just in case, with the rain and all that on Saturday. I'm just careful.", confided Lando Norris at the end of the two test sessions.

While waiting for the possible arrival of rain, McLaren has reason to hope for a good result in Budapest. The Woking-based team wants to reclaim fourth place in the constructors' championship Alpine. The French team was a little further behind during free practice, with a 6th place for Fernando Alonso in EL2.

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