BUDAPEST, Hungary – The day started off dry but ended wet for Formula One teams on Friday at the Hungaroring.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton paced the field during the opening practice on Friday, which was held on a dry Hungaroring. He turned a fast lap of 1:16.003, which put him just ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Lando Norris were next in line, followed by the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo.

When it came time for the second session to begin a storm had moved in over the track, soaking the facility and dramatically decreasing lap times as a result. Hamilton and his Mercedes squad opted not to participate in the soggy second session after accomplishing everything they needed to in the first practice.

“We got everything done that we needed to in the first session,” Hamilton said. “The car felt good out there in FP1 although there was still some work to do, so we made some changes for the second session – then it rained, so we’ve still got learning to do tomorrow. The wet conditions in FP2 didn’t really leave us with a lot to do, so we just completed an installation lap on the Intermediate tires.

“This is such a great track to drive in the dry, but it’s very tricky in the wet and it felt quite low grip out there today. Looking ahead to qualifying tomorrow, I think it is going to be a lot closer as it’s not such a power-dependent circuit. I’m hoping for a tighter pack, it’d be great to see the Renaults doing well, the McLarens are doing a fantastic job, as are the Racing Points, it’s really exciting to see. We also expect Red Bull to be strong, so I anticipate a tough battle with them.”

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in the wet second session with a best lap of 1:40.464. Bottas opted to turn some laps in the second session and went second fastest, .272 seconds behind Vettel.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz was third ahead of Stroll and Perez during the second session.