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Hungary practice: Hamilton tops both

BUDAPEST, Hungary -  Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time in the first and second practice sessions for the 2014 Hungarian F1 GP with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg second.

Hamilton's best lap of 1min24.482 was 0.238sec faster than Rosberg's in the second session.

These two drivers, who have won nine of the 10 races so far in 2014, were the only ones to crack 1min25 and were more than a second faster than in first practice. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was third.

TAKING ON HUNGARORING

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso was fourth in second practice but nearly a second off Hamilton's pace, followed by Kevin Magnussen (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and surging Valtteri Bottas (Williams).

Gaining pole position for Sunday's (July 27) race  is considered a huge plus on the twisting Hungaroring circuit where overtaking opportunities are limited. Hamilton wants his third race Hungarian win in a row and his fifth overall on this track.

Despite far outpacing the rest of the field, Hamilton said neither the soft nor medium Pirelli tyre compounds were satisfactory during the first two practice sessions on the famously dusty circuit. He completed 38 laps in second practice and said afterwards: "Neither tyre was good, to be honest. They both have very poor grip."

'IT'S A BIT BORING'

Hamilton said Mercedes was being careful about avoiding excessive tyre wear during the practices. "It feels like you have to slow down too much, to the point that it's a bit boring."

The English driver, who crashed during qualifying for the 2014 German GP in Hockenheim due to brake failure, was heard on his car/pits radio complaining again about his brakes and said later: "I just had some brake settings that weren't great. This is a continuing issue on which we need to work."

Hamilton won four of the first five races of 2014, adding a fifth in at the 2014 British Grand Prix. He has 176 points, 14 behind Rosberg but 70 ahead of Ricciardo, the only other winner in 2014.

2014 Hungarian GP practice times

Second practice
1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1min24.482
2 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min24.720
3 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 1min25.111
4 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min25.437
5 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren 1min25.580
6 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1min25.730
7 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull 1min25.983
8 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams 1min25.999
9 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min26.234
10 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams 1min26.402
11 Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso 1min26.689
12 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso 1min26.703
13 Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India 1min26.789
14 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber 1min26.919
15 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India 1min27.013
16 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus  1min27.019
17 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus  1min27.021
18 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber 1min27.480
19 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham 1min28.370
20 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia 1min28.469
21 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia 1min28.586
22 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham 1min29.036

First practice
1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1min25.814
2 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min25.997
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1min26.421
4 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min26.872
5 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 1min27.220
6 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren 1min27.357
7 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso 1min27.683
8 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull 1min27.782
9 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min27.804
10 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams1min27.960
11 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber 1min27.967
12 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Force India 1min28.101
13 Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso 1min28.208
14 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus 1min28.266
15 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams1min28.330
16 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India 1min28.376
17 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus 1min28.593
18 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber 1min29.025
19 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham 1min30.363
20 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham 1min30.892
21 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia 1min31.004
22 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia 1min31.248

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 Hungarian GP this weekend.


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