Hungary GP2: Gasly comfortably quickest in practice
Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly looked in complete control in GP2's sole practice session at the Hungaroring, going almost half a second clear of his nearest rival.
Photo by: GP2 Media Service
Prema Powerteam driver Gasly's best time of the session - a 1m27.138s - was almost a second clear of former teammate Alex Lynn's 2015 pole, as the Hungaroring's new track surface contributed to a significant increase in pace.
Reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne's 2015 practice benchmark of 1m28.969s was surpassed almost instantly in this session, with Gasly posting a 1m28.047s less than 10 minutes into the session.
Compatriot Norman Nato then moved up within half a tenth of Gasly, only for the Red Bull junior to go quicker at 1m27.827s.
And when Sergey Sirotkin surpassed that time by a tenth and a half, Gasly retook the top spot immediately - going well clear with a 1m27.138s to lead by half a second at the midway point in the 45-minute session.
Things quieted down in the second half of the session, with neither Gasly nor Sirotkin improving on their respective best laps.
But while the Frenchman remained quite some distance ahead, Sirotkin was demoted to third by Lynn shortly before the chequered flag, the Williams development driver lapping 0.457s off Gasly.
Raffaele Marciello and Sirotkin's ART teammate Nobuharu Matsushita made up the top five, ahead of Nato and championship leader Oliver Rowland - the final two drivers within a second of Gasly.
Italian rookies Antonio Giovinazzi and Luca Ghiotto were eighth and ninth respectively, with Sergio Canamasas 10th-quickest despite a spin and a number of other moments during the session.
Practice results
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