Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz topped a rain-hit practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix.

With persistent rain falling at Spa-Francorchamps, not one driver completed more than eight laps.

Sainz headed the timing charts, half-a-second clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with team-mate Lando Norris third.

Max Verstappen, who is set to serve a five-place grid penalty following a gearbox change, was among five of the 20-strong field who did not complete a timed lap.

Qualifying is due to take place at 5pm local time (4pm BST), but the running is under threat given the bad weather and poor visibility generated by the spray in the Ardennes.

Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, said their priority is to ensure qualifying for Sunday’s main event takes place with other sessions throughout the weekend – including Saturday’s sprint schedule – likely to be sacrificed.

Heavy rain is expected to continue on Friday, and into Saturday with conditions forecast to improve on Sunday. One option is to move qualifying to Sunday morning, as the FIA did in Japan in 2019 when Typhoon Hagibis struck.

If qualifying can not take place, the FIA confirmed the grid for Sunday’s main event will be set by championship order.

Conditions worsened through Friday’s one-hour session with Logan Sargeant crashing out at the midway stage.

The Williams rookie lost control of his car under braking for Les Combes, heading straight into the barrier. The American was unharmed in the accident but the red flags were deployed to recover his stricken machine.

Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu also grazed the barrier after he ran through the gravel.

The FIA’s decision whether or not to run in the wet conditions will be heightened following the death of 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month.

The Dutch teenager was killed after a crash in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) race on July 1.

Max Verstappen will not start Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix from pole position with the world champion set to serve a five-place grid penalty.

Verstappen, 110 points clear at the top of the standings, is due to take on his fifth gearbox, one more than he is permitted.

It means the 25-year-old will begin the grand prix on Sunday no higher than sixth in something of a boost to his forlorn rivals.

However, the Dutchman started the race from 14th last year owing to engine penalties and still took the win in his dominant Red Bull machine.

Verstappen has won the last seven races, nine of the 11 rounds staged so far this season, and is on course to wrap up a hat-trick of titles.

At last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen’s Red Bull team set a new F1 record of 12 consecutive wins.

Qualifying for Sunday’s race is due to take place at 5pm local time (4pm BST) on Friday. A sprint race will be staged at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday, but Verstappen’s penalty will apply only to the main event.

George Russell has raised the prospect of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix being cancelled amid poor weather.

Heavy rain fell over the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on Thursday, with the grizzly weather expected to continue throughout the weekend.

Although the forecast is better for Sunday’s Grand Prix, the weather is notoriously difficult to predict in the Ardennes and there is a fear in the paddock that the weekend’s running – which features a sprint race on Saturday – could be heavily disrupted.

Indeed, it is understood Formula One are already looking into potential changes to the timetable.

The FIA’s decision to run in the wet conditions will be heightened following the death of 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month.

The Dutch teenager was killed after a crash in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) race on July 1.

“Obviously to have a race cancelled is not perfect for anybody, but we don’t want to see another huge incident that we have just seen,” said Russell, 25, director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.

“The conditions are safe and suitable enough to drive for one Formula One car. But when you have got 20 cars on track at once, anybody from third position backwards literally cannot see 20, 30, 40 metres ahead of them.

“We have no visibility whatsoever. To give it some perspective, it is like driving down the motorway in pouring rain, and turning your windscreen wipers off. That is how it feels in the cockpit.

“It was only a matter of time before the incident in the FRECA race happened. Drivers do not go flat out on the straight because they cannot see, someone gets rear-ended, and then there is a car in the middle of the track.

“I also fear a little bit for the junior categories. I truly think Formula Three should not have 30 cars out there at one time at any point, even in dry conditions. I feel like it is a matter of time before a big incident happens there, too.”

In 2021, the race here was abandoned after just two laps behind the safety car because of torrential rain, and Mercedes’ Russell continued: “It was the correct decision to call off the race.

“The FIA has to be bold with its decisions when it comes to safety and when it comes to visibility.

“We want to race, everybody wants to race, but when you go down that straight at over 200mph and you can’t see in front of you, there will be huge incidents, so they have got a big responsibility.”

Van ‘t Hoff died following a multiple car pile-up on the exit of the notorious Eau Rouge corner and leading into the Kemmel Straight.

In the spray, Van ‘t Hoff was tagged from behind, rebounding off the wall, and into the middle of the circuit where he was hit at high speed by another driver.

Frenchman Anthoine Hubert was killed four years ago in an F2 race following a similar incident, albeit in the dry, at a circuit which has now claimed 49 lives.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said: “It is not something I ever think of. As a driver, you can’t let it enter your mind, but you have to trust in what the FIA do.

“We wouldn’t be here if they didn’t think it would be safe. They have done such incredible work over the past few decades and I trust them to make the right decisions moving forwards.”

Max Verstappen’s Hungarian Grand Prix victory gave his Red Bull team a record 12th successive Formula One race win.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the dominant Dutchman and his team compare to the greats of the grid.

Prost and Senna’s record falls

Verstappen has won nine of this season’s 11 races, with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two.

Verstappen also won last season’s final race and not since the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988 has a single team dominated to such an extent.

That season began in Brazil and while Senna was disqualified from his home race for an illegal car change, Prost took the chequered flag.

Senna won in San Marino and he and Prost shared the next four races equally before Prost recorded a home win in the French Grand Prix.

Four straight victories for Senna followed before Ferrari’s Gerhard Berger broke the streak in Italy, the only race all season not won by McLaren as they and Senna won a championship double with Prost close behind in second in the drivers’ standings.

That is the case for Verstappen and Perez this season as well, albeit with Verstappen over 100 points clear of his team-mate.

Verstappen added Bahrain and Australia to last season’s success in Abu Dhabi, alternating at the start of the season with Perez’s wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan before taking sole control.

Mercedes had three separate runs of 10 successive wins during Lewis Hamilton’s period of dominance, with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari team also hitting double figures in 2002.

Magnificent seven

Since the start of May, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian, British and now Hungarian Grands Prix to equal the second-longest winning run for an individual driver.

Only Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine straight wins in 2013 remains for him to chase – victory in the next two races would see him equal that mark in front of his adoring home fans at August 27’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.

Alberto Ascari has a claim to matching Vettel. The Italian won the last six races of the 1952 season and the Argentine Grand Prix at the start of 1953 before not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship. He went on to win the Dutch and Belgian GPs on his next two starts.

Michael Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season.

Schumacher also had a run of six across the 2000 and 2001 seasons while Hamilton’s longest run is five wins, as was Verstappen’s before his current streak.

He is on track to be the first driver ever to win over 80 per cent of races in a season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – while he has won over 93 per cent of the maximum points available with 281 of a possible 302 so far.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen’s dominance of the sport is so one-sided that he is making the rest of the grid look like they are racing in a junior category.

Verstappen took his ninth win of the season, extending Red Bull’s unbeaten streak to 11 from 11 this year with just one race remaining before the summer break.

The Dutchman, now a staggering 110 points clear in the championship, finished more than half-a-minute clear of his rivals following another supreme showing in his supreme Red Bull machine.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was runner-up – scoring consecutive podium finishes for the first time in his career – with pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton only fourth and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell sixth.

“It was like a bunch of Formula Two cars against a Formula One car,” said Wolff.

“In the F2 gang, our car was quick. The F1 car won by 33 seconds.

“We had the second quickest car today, and obviously we can talk it up and say we could have been second, but that’s irrelevant because you have a car that finished 39 seconds ahead [of Hamilton], and was probably cruising a lot of the time.

“We are going to fight back and win races and championships, but we saw the pace Max had, and that’s the bitter reality.

“But it’s a meritocracy, and as long as you’re moving within the regulations, then we need to acknowledge Red Bull has just done a better job.”

Hamilton has now gone 34 appearances without a victory – the longest streak of his career – while Verstappen has triumphed 24 times during the same period, moving him to 44 career wins.

Verstappen’s Red Bull set a new record of 12 consecutive wins on Sunday, with Mercedes’ unprecedented 19 victories in a single campaign under threat.

At the midway stage of this 22-round campaign, the world champions also remain on course to become the first team to complete the perfect season.

However, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps – which includes a sprint race and the possibility of rain – Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was keen to guard against complacency.

Horner said: “How long can we keep this winning run going? Who knows?

“We’ve got another challenge next weekend, a sprint race, with the variable conditions of Spa. Anything can happen, so we’re really just taking it pretty much one event at a time.”

Max Verstappen said it would be “terrible” to remain stuck on the same number of career wins as Lewis Hamilton’s car number following his crushing triumph at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The all-conquering Dutchman beat pole-sitter Hamilton to the opening bend at the Hungaroring before going on to lead every lap and claim his seventh successive win and 44th of his career.

“Hopefully I don’t stay on 44 for too long,” joked Verstappen. “That would be terrible I need to get to 45 quickly.”

The evidence of the season so far would suggest Verstappen’s wait will last only a week with Spa-Francorchamps the venue for the final round before the summer break of this most one-sided of campaigns.

Indeed, Red Bull will head into next Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix unbeaten from the opening 11 rounds of 22, setting a new record on Sunday with their 12th consecutive win.

The perfect dozen includes the final round of last season in Abu Dhabi, eclipsing McLaren’s 11 in a row in 1988 when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were at the wheel.

“Twelve wins in a row is just incredible,” added Verstappen, who is now 110 points clear at the summit of the world championship on his unstoppable march towards a hat-trick of titles.

“What we’ve been doing for the last two years has been unbelievable. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time. We always want to do better but days like this are just perfect.”

Verstappen, 25, crossed the line more than half-a-minute clear of runner-up Lando Norris to record his ninth win of the season and retain Red Bull’s chance of becoming the first team in F1 history to complete a perfect campaign.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “As a young kid I remember watching Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna under the incredible leadership of Ron Dennis achieve that feat (11 wins in a row) and to think we have bettered that is something all the team in Budapest and back in Milton Keynes have worked so hard for and means so much.

“Max is a driver totally at one with himself in the car and with total confidence and trust in the team. We are witnessing a sportsman at the top of his game and he is a joy to work with.

“Max is a modest guy and he is uncomfortable with the plaudits he is given, but he deserves all the credit he is getting at the moment.”

Lewis Hamilton admitted he has not been driving at his best for over a year after a poor start at the Hungarian Grand Prix allowed Max Verstappen to rack up a record-breaking victory.

Verstappen gazumped pole-sitter Hamilton on the downhill run to the opening corner at the Hungaroring before racing off into the distance to score his seventh successive victory of this most one-sided of Formula One seasons.

Hamilton finished only fourth after both McLaren drivers also moved ahead of him inside the first two bends of Sunday’s 70-lap race.

Lando Norris was runner-up to Verstappen for the second consecutive race, 33.7 seconds behind the dominant Dutchman, while Sergio Perez fought back from ninth to third with Oscar Piastri crossing the line in fifth.

Verstappen’s ninth win from the 11 rounds so far sees him move 110 points clear of Perez heading into next weekend’s concluding round before the summer break in Belgium. The Dutchman’s Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, setting a new F1 record with their 12th consecutive win.

For Hamilton, he is now 34 appearances without a victory – the longest streak of his career.

“I have not been at my best for over a year,” said Hamilton who has not won since he was denied a record eighth world title at the concluding round in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

Across the same period, Verstappen – the man who beat him to the title on that controversial night in the desert – has triumphed 24 times.

But the seven-time world champion added: “I am not disappointed. It was obvious that we do not have the quickest car. Max got a better start than me, I got a bit of wheelspin, and I was a bit compromised after that.

“I am really proud of myself and the job we did to get pole and outperform the world champion and the other two McLaren cars that are quicker than us. But today is just a reality check. The reality is that we are not fast enough.

“I was told in the strategy meeting this morning that I would be five tenths a lap slower than the Red Bull so the fight is not with Max but hopefully that we would be able to fight the McLarens. But then the McLaren was also too quick for us.”

Hamilton’s initial reaction to the lights turning green was fine enough, but he lacked traction in the next phase, with Verstappen moving alongside the Mercedes and then ahead under braking for the first corner.

Forced wide by Verstappen, Hamilton then lost two further positions. First to Piastri at the same right-hander, before Norris also muscled his way ahead around the outside of the next bend. Hamilton had a nibble back at his countryman on the long run up to Turn 4 but Norris held firm.

A contrite Hamilton was straight on the radio. “Sorry about that, guys,” he said.

“Don’t sweat about it, Lewis,” came the reassuring response from Hamilton’s ever-upbeat race engineer, Peter Bonnington.

As Verstappen did what Verstappen does and controlled the race to perfection, Hamilton appeared rattled.

He questioned if his Mercedes team had turned down his engine after falling a dozen seconds back from Verstappen by the time he stopped for fresh rubber on lap 16.

He then expressed his exasperation at being cast more than 10 seconds behind third-placed Piastri, the Australian dropping behind Norris at the first round of stops.

“Where am I losing all the time?” he asked, adding: “It is just the car is slow.”

Bonnington then called on Hamilton to pick up the pace. But the despondent 38-year-old replied: “This is as fast as it goes, mate. That is what I have been saying.”

When he finally stopped for rubber for a second time with 20 laps to run, Hamilton dropped to fifth.

He wiped out a six-second deficit to Piastri inside a handful of laps, and at the start of lap 57 he breezed past the McLaren man at the first corner, before taking the chequered flag 39 seconds behind the all-conquering Verstappen.

“The Red Bull car is phenomenal,” added an envious Hamilton.

The Briton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell started 18th and finished sixth, benefiting from a five-second penalty to Charles Leclerc who sped in the pit lane. Daniel Ricciardo was a commendable 13th on his first race back.

Lewis Hamilton apologised to Mercedes after a poor start at the Hungarian Grand Prix allowed Max Verstappen to rack up another win.

Verstappen gazumped pole-sitter Hamilton on the downhill run to the opening corner at the Hungaroring before racing off into the distance to score his seventh successive victory of this most one-sided of Formula One seasons.

Hamilton finished a disappointing fourth after both McLaren drivers also moved ahead of him inside the first two bends of Sunday’s 70-lap race.

Lando Norris was runner-up to Verstappen for the second consecutive race, 33.7 seconds behind the dominant Dutchman, while Sergio Perez fought back from ninth to third with Oscar Piastri crossing the line in fifth.

Verstappen’s ninth win from the 11 rounds so far, and 18th from his last 22 outings, sees him extend his championship lead to three figures, moving 110 points clear of Perez, heading into next weekend’s concluding round before the summer break in Belgium. Red Bull remain unbeaten this season, setting a new Formula One record with their 12th consecutive win in a row.

Twenty-four hours after he ended a 595-day wait for pole position, Hamilton’s challenge to end a losing streak which now stands at 34 races was over after a few hundred metres.

Hamilton’s initial reaction to the lights turning green was fine, but he struggled for traction in the next phase, with Verstappen moving alongside the Mercedes and then ahead under braking for the first right-hander.

Hamilton, sharing the front row with Verstappen for the first time since he was denied a record eighth world title in the desert, could do nothing to prevent Verstappen barging his way through.

Forced wide by Verstappen, Hamilton then lost two further positions. First to Piastri at the same right-hander, before Norris also muscled his way ahead of the seven-time world champion around the outside of the next bend. Hamilton had a nibble back at his countryman on the long run up to Turn 4 but Norris held firm.

A contrite Hamilton was straight on the radio. “Sorry about that, guys,” he said. “Don’t sweat about it, Lewis,” came the reply from Hamilton’s ever-upbeat race engineer, Peter Bonnington. “It is going to be a long race.”

Further back, and a slow-starting Zhou Guanyu mimicked a ten-pin bowling ball when he bumped into the returning Daniel Ricciardo, who hit Esteban Ocon, who in turn collided with Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly. Zhou was given a five-second penalty as both Alpines were unable to continue on a disastrous afternoon for the French team.

As Verstappen did what Verstappen does and controlled the race to perfection, Hamilton was struggling for speed. He questioned if his Mercedes team had turned down his engine after falling a dozen seconds back from Verstappen by the time he stopped for fresh rubber on lap 16.

He then expressed his exasperation at being cast more than 10 seconds behind third-placed Piastri, the Australian dropping behind team-mate Norris at the first round of stops.

“Where am I losing all the time?” he asked, adding: “It is just the car is slow.”

Perez started ninth following another below-par qualifying, but by lap 40 he was crawling all over the back of Hamilton’s Mercedes. To his credit, the Briton held off Perez before the Red Bull man dived into the pits.

Bonnington called on Hamilton to pick up the pace. But the despondent 38-year-old replied: “This is as fast as it goes, mate. That is what I have been saying.”

When he finally stopped for rubber for a second time with 20 laps to run, Hamilton dropped to fifth, with Perez now running in third after fighting his way past Piastri.

Piastri was suddenly struggling for speed and Hamilton wiped out a six-second deficit to the Australian inside a handful of laps and at the start of 57 he breezed past the McLaren man at the first corner.

Hamilton set about hunting down Perez, wiping out significant chunks of time in the closing laps, without getting close enough to challenge, crossing the line 1.5 seconds back from the Mexican and 39 behind Verstappen.

Charles Leclerc finished sixth while George Russell, who started 18th, passed Carlos Sainz for seventh with five laps remaining. The Briton was then bumped up one place after Leclerc was penalised five seconds for speeding in the pit lane.

On his first race back in the saddle after being dumped by McLaren at the end of last season, Ricciardo – despite slipping to last after Zhou’s first-corner antics – finished a commendable 13th in his AlphaTauri.

Lewis Hamilton said he held his breath for the 76.6 seconds it took him to capture his first pole position in 595 days for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion held off Red Bull foe Max Verstappen by just three thousandths of a second as he danced his Mercedes to top spot in an exhilarating qualifying session at the Hungaroring.

Lando Norris finished third following another impressive afternoon for the rising McLaren star, one spot ahead of his team-mate Oscar Piastri. George Russell managed only 18th on a day to forget for the Mercedes man.

Hamilton’s one-lap triumph here – described as a work of art by his old rival Nico Rosberg – is his first since the penultimate fixture of the contentious 2021 season in Saudi Arabia, 33 races ago.

The following round in Abu Dhabi – where Hamilton was denied a record eighth world title by Michael Masi’s controversial refereeing – marked the last time he started a race from the front row. Verstappen began from pole on that contentious evening in the desert. On Sunday, it will be Hamilton’s turn.

Hamilton roared with delight over the team radio before holding his head in his hands and then saluting the raucous crowd as he stood on top of the front-right tyre of the Mercedes machine which carried him to his ninth pole in Hungary and 104th in all. A cursory handshake for Verstappen followed.

“I’ve lost my voice from shouting so much in the car,” said Hamilton, moments after stepping out of his cockpit.

In the official press conference reserved for the top-three drivers, Hamilton added: “I forgot what it feels like to sit in this spot. He (Verstappen) has been hogging it for a while.

“I don’t think I breathed for the whole lap, I held my breath. I was so out of breath at the end. It is an extraordinary feeling.

“I have not been here for such a long time. Even with the success I have had before, and this is my 104th pole, it feels like the first. It is hard to explain how special it feels.”

Hamilton trailed Verstappen by 0.126 sec prior to the concluding runs. But he usurped the Dutch driver, who failed to improve on his last lap, with his final throw of the dice. He was the last man to cross the line.

“I witnessed those special moments and the days he used to have, and today was one of those,” said Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the 2016 title.

“That lap is like perfection, it is art. Only Lewis Hamilton can do that.”

Hamilton has won more times in Hungary than anybody else, and claimed his first victory in Mercedes colours at this venue a decade ago.

“Last year we were nowhere,” said Hamilton. “I have always had belief that if we apply ourselves the right way we would get there, and it was just a question of how long that would be?

“But we started this season with the twin sister or twin brother of the previous year’s car. It felt identical and that was worrying.

“When you lose that confidence you shed a lot of time. I had no confidence in the car. It was so nervous, and it felt like I was treading on eggshells.

“I started out this season with very little confidence, but bit-by-bit I got the thing on the right tracks, so the confidence has finally come back.

“We have been on this journey of undoing the wrong decisions we have taken and it has taken far longer than we hoped, but we are starting to see those benefits.”

Converting his 104th pole into his 104th victory will not be an easy task for Hamilton. Verstappen has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and his Red Bull team are unbeaten this season.

“We tend to have decent race pace,” concluded Hamilton. “Max’s race pace yesterday in practice was quite extraordinary. They were quicker than us.

“But if there is a way to hold position then maybe there is a fighting chance for us. I am as keen as I am to win tomorrow as I did for my first win in Montreal in 2007.”

Lewis Hamilton raised the prospect of springing a surprise pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix after finishing fastest in final practice.

The seven-time world champion ended the concluding one-hour running before qualifying at the Hungaroring 0.250 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Verstappen, who has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and six in succession, complained about the handling of his Red Bull.

“There is no f****** grip,” said the frustrated two-time world champion over the radio.

Sergio Perez took third spot in the other Red Bull, 0.263 sec adrift of Hamilton, with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren driver Lando Norris fourth and fifth respectively. Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell finished sixth three tenths back.

Hamilton only finished 16th on Friday, describing his machine as “at its worst”. But the 38-year-old, who has won more times at the Hungaroring than anybody else and captured his first victory in Mercedes colours at this venue a decade ago, led the way on Saturday to suggest he might be a contender heading into the remainder of the weekend.

Elsewhere, Daniel Ricciardo, back on the grid as a replacement for Nyck De Vries, clocked the 18th quickest time. His new AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was 20th and last.

Qualifying for Sunday’s 70-lap race starts at 4pm local time (3pm BST).

Max Verstappen handed his rivals the slimmest of hopes that he could be beaten at Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix after he finished only 11th in practice.

The dominant Dutchman, who has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and six in succession to establish a 99-point lead in the standings, has mastered all conditions this season.

But Verstappen unusually ended the sole dry running here six tenths back from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris – fresh from his impressive second place at the British Grand Prix – 0.015 seconds adrift of the scarlet car.

Lewis Hamilton was 16th with Mercedes team-mate George Russell 20th and last on a topsy-turvy day at the Hungaroring.

Despite Verstappen being off the pace, times in practice must be treated with a degree of caution as different setup and fuel loads are trialled.

It is also worth noting that a number of the top teams will have held back fresh rubber following the reduction of tyre allocation from 13 sets to 11 here.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez took two wins from the opening four, but the Mexican has been on a torrid run since, and his bad form continued when he crashed out of first practice.

The opening one-hour running of the weekend was dry and barely a few minutes old when Perez – on his first lap – lost control of his Red Bull and ended up in the wall.

The Mexican put two wheels on the grass under braking for the fifth corner, sending him into a pirouette and into the tyre barrier.

Perez was unharmed in the accident but he sustained significant damage to the front of his machine. It also denied the rest of the field any dry running as the heavens opened with the red flags deployed to recover Perez’s wounded machine.

The 33-year-old is under increasing pressure at Red Bull following five-consecutive qualifying sessions in which he has failed to make it into Q3. On each of those occasions, Verstappen has scored pole position in the other Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri is also likely to be playing on Perez’s mind, with the Australian admitting he is daring to dream about the possibility of a return to the grid’s all-conquering team.

Perez was able to take part in the day’s concluding action but he locked up and flat-spotted his front-right tyre and could manage only 18th, 1.3 sec slower than Leclerc.

Ricciardo, back in the saddle in place of the sacked Nyck De Vries, has a dozen races to prove he still possesses the prowess which carried him to eight wins.

He finished 14th in his first outing since last year’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, seven tenths back and 10 places behind his new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Sergio Perez’s torrid run of form continued at the Hungarian Grand Prix after he crashed out of a rain-hit opening practice.

George Russell led the way in the wet conditions for Mercedes at the Hungaroring, 0.359 seconds clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll third and Lando Norris fourth.

Only 13 of the 20-strong field posted a competitive lap, with championship leader Max Verstappen and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton not risking the possibility of damage.

The first one-hour running of the weekend was still dry, and barely a few minutes old, when Perez lost control of his Red Bull and ended up in the wall.

The Mexican put two wheels on the grass under braking for the fifth corner, sending him into a pirouette and into the tyre barrier.

Perez was unharmed in the accident but he sustained significant damage to the front of his machine.

Perez is under increasing pressure at Red Bull following five consecutive qualifying sessions in which he has failed to make it into Q3. On each of those occasions, Verstappen has scored pole position in the other Red Bull.

Indeed, Verstappen, who has won eight of the opening 10 rounds and six in succession, has already moved 99 points clear of his struggling team-mate.

Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri is also likely to be playing on Perez’s mind, with the Australian admitting he is daring to dream about the possibility of a return to the grid’s all-conquering team.

For now, Ricciardo has a dozen races to prove his credentials. However, the eight-time grand prix winner was among those who elected not to set a timed lap on Friday.

The red flags were deployed to deal with Perez’s stricken car and then the rain arrived. The slippery conditions caught out Carlos Sainz after he lost control of his Ferrari on the exit of turn three.

The Spaniard spun across the track and grazed the wall on the opposite side of the circuit before becoming stuck in the grass.

A second red flag was required as marshals assisted in helping Sainz return to the pits with front-wing damage on his scarlet machine.

Friday’s concluding session takes place at 5pm local time (4pm BST).

Claire Williams said selling the family’s Formula One team is a grief that has been difficult to come to terms with, admitting it has felt like someone cut her heart out and never gave it back.

Claire, 47, has been an F1 outsider for coming up to three years following the sale of the team founded by her father Sir Frank Williams to American investment firm Dorilton Capital for £136million.

She resigned as de facto boss at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, while Frank – who extraordinarily took his motor racing team from an empty carpet warehouse to the summit of the sport – died a year later.

“When I left in Monza it felt like someone cut my heart out and it has never been returned,” said Claire, in an interview with the PA news agency ahead of Williams’ 800th race at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

“You just have to find something to put in its place. But it was very difficult then and three years on, it is still really hard.

“It is just one of those griefs that is really difficult to get over, or to come to terms with. Now we have lost Dad, it sometimes feels as though it was just a dream. Did that period in our lives really happen?”

Sir Frank oversaw 114 victories, 16 drivers’ and constructors’ world championships and became the longest-serving team boss in the sport’s history.

His story is made all the more remarkable by a horrific car crash which left him with injuries so devastating doctors considered turning off his life-support machine.

Until his death in 2021, he was recognised as the world’s oldest surviving tetraplegic.

Frank, who lived at the team headquarters in Grove, Oxfordshire, handed over the managerial baton to daughter Claire in 2013.

She guided the team to a brilliant third in the constructors’ championship, behind the financial muscle of Mercedes and Ferrari over the following two years, before a lack of major investment contributed to Williams’ decline. A decade has passed since a Williams driver last won a race.

“There was so much that went on in those last few years, which to this day I will never be able to talk about,” continues Claire.

“But I saw the team through three very difficult seasons and I was able to hand over something that was still living and still breathing to someone with deeper pockets than us. We kept everyone in jobs, we didn’t go into administration and I am very proud of that.

“When I have challenging circumstances I bury my head in jobs and when we sold Williams, my next concern was, where did Dad go?

“As much as Dorilton were kind enough to say he could always live at the factory, I needed him close to me. And coincidentally the house next door to us came up for sale, so we moved Dad in.

“I managed his care team. I made sure he was happy and comfortable in his new home and we went off and did some nice stuff together. He would pick up my little one, Nate, from nursery.

“But then he got sicker, greater care was required to look after him and he passed away. But for the next six months, we organised this wonderful memorial service. We then decided to move house, renovating our old house in Ascot and our new home in South Downs.

“So, I am the master of distraction. Life carries on. And as much as I miss Williams, and I miss Formula One dreadfully, there is a whole other world out there. You have to go and find happy elsewhere. That is what I have done.”

However, Claire discovered her zen state is disrupted by watching the sport she loves.

She will not tune in on Sunday to see Alex Albon and rookie Logan Sargeant scramble for a point or two under the tutelage of new team principal James Vowles – an appointment Claire said her father would have approved of – in Williams’ landmark race.

“I turned on the TV to see Alex had scored a point in Australia earlier this year,” she continued with a broad smile.

“Ted’s Notebook was on and Ted [Kravitz] grabbed James and said, ‘mate, congratulations, you are only Williams’ third team principal and you have got a point. How does it feel?’

“And I was like, third team principal? That is Frank, that is Jost [Capito] and that is James, what about me? Ted has just cancelled me on national television!

“I may not have been called team principal but I operated that way and I have literally just been erased. I turned it straight off and vowed never to watch again.

“But I tried watching the last race at Silverstone. I thought to myself, ‘Right, I am going to do this. Come on’. But I watched the formation lap and that was that. I lasted five minutes.

“I don’t know what it is, but if you talk to any person who has worked, lived and breathed Formula One – no matter if that is for 20 years or 20 minutes – it does something to you. It absorbs you, and when you leave, particularly involuntary like I did, it is very difficult to watch it and not feel that loss.”

Claire dovetails speaking engagements and “top-secret television projects” with her role as brand ambassador for Williams Advanced Engineering.

Earlier this year, she launched the Frank Williams Academy in her father’s honour. The project aims to raise £1.5m to help educate and train those affected by spinal cord injuries. She also revealed Sky offered her the chance to return to the F1 paddock as a pundit.

“It was too soon,” said Claire. “It is better when you leave, you leave.

“Unless someone said to me, ‘Come back and be a team principal and you can have Williams back’, I don’t necessarily think there is a job I would want, but never say never.”

Lewis Hamilton has criticised Red Bull’s decision to axe Nyck De Vries after just 10 races.

Daniel Ricciardo has been handed a second chance in Formula One, replacing De Vries at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri for the concluding dozen rounds of the year, starting at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

De Vries, 28, crashed on multiple occasions and failed to score a single point, with a best finish of 12th in Monaco, before he was handed his marching orders by Red Bull’s ruthless motorsport adviser Helmut Marko 48 hours after he finished 17th and last at the British Grand Prix.

“I am not surprised to see Daniel back but I was surprised to see the decision they took for poor Nyck,” said Hamilton at the Hungaroring.

“He is such a talented young man and a nice guy. The future is bright for him and there will be opportunities for the future. But that is how Red Bull do it.”

When it was suggested to Hamilton that De Vries’ dismissal is a reminder of how F1 works, the seven-time world champion replied: “I would say that is how Red Bull work.”

Ricciardo’s career looked to be all but over after he was dumped by McLaren following two underwhelming seasons with the British team.

But the popular 34-year-old impressed in a test at Silverstone for Red Bull last Tuesday, and given Sergio Perez’s torrid run of form – which has seen him fall 99 points adrift of team-mate Max Verstappen – AlphaTauri’s move to hire the Australian will fuel speculation that he could land a return to the team which carried him to seven of his eight victories.

Speaking at the world champions’ packed motorhome earlier on Thursday, Ricciardo said: “The dream is a Red Bull seat, but there is no ‘this is what you need to do’ to achieve that.

“Given what has happened over the past few years and taking time off, I knew it would be hard to get back in at the top.

“Of course that was my wish, but you need to be realistic, and if I want to get back into Red Bull it will be a process, and this is the best path for me at the moment.

Ricciardo’s reputation in the sport is on the line following his poor period with McLaren which saw the British team move to cancel his contract.

Ricciardo failed to land a seat for the 2023 campaign and instead elected to return to Red Bull as a reserve driver.

But he might struggle to impress with a team currently rooted to the foot of the constructors’ table, taking just two points all season.

However, Ricciardo added: “Over the past few years, I started falling into a trap where I believed the car does not suit me and you can be your own worst enemy. I know this car will have limitations but I will work with that.

“Getting this opportunity is a chance to make things better. That is why I am excited to get back behind the wheel and show my true self.

“I had enough time off to reset and also enjoy it again. Six months ago, I wasn’t at a place to jump at an opportunity like this but that has been the luxury of time.

“I have fallen in love with it again and I feel myself in an environment that provides me with a lot of nostalgia, so when the opportunity came along it was like, ‘let’s try it’.”

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he is daring to dream about a return to Red Bull ahead of his Formula One comeback at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Ricciardo’s career looked to be all but over after he was dumped by McLaren following two underwhelming seasons with the British team.

But the popular 34-year-old has been handed a second chance, replacing Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri for the concluding dozen rounds of the year, starting at the Hungaroring on Sunday.

Ricciardo impressed during a test at Silverstone for Red Bull last Tuesday, and given Sergio Perez’s torrid run of form – which has seen him fall 99 points adrift of team-mate Max Verstappen – AlphaTauri’s move to hire the Australian will fuel speculation that he could land a return to the team which carried him to seven of his eight victories.

And speaking at the world champions’ packed motorhome on Thursday, Ricciardo said: “The dream is a Red Bull seat, but there is no ‘this is what you need to do’ to achieve that.

“Given what has happened over the past few years and taking time off, I knew it would be hard to get back in at the top.

“Of course that was my wish, but you need to be realistic, and if I want to get back into Red Bull it will be a process, and this is the best path for me at the moment.

“You know what they are like here. They are not telling me to take it easy, they want me to show them what I have got, but there is no criteria.

“And in terms of expectations there are none. I want to be in the moment, enjoying it, and not thinking too far ahead.”

Ricciardo’s reputation in the sport is on the line following his poor period with McLaren which saw the British team move to cancel his contract.

Ricciardo failed to land a seat for the 2023 campaign and instead elected to return to Red Bull as a reserve driver.

But he might struggle to impress with a team rooted to the foot of the constructors’ table, taking just two points from the first 10 races.

However, Ricciardo added: “Over the past few years, I started falling into a trap where I believed the car does not suit me and you can be your own worst enemy. I know this car will have limitations but I will work with that.

“Getting this opportunity is a chance to make things better. That is why I am excited to get back behind the wheel and show my true self.

“I had enough time off to reset and also enjoy it again. Six months ago, I wasn’t at a place to jump at an opportunity like this but that has been the luxury of time.

“I have fallen in love with it again and I feel myself in an environment that provides me with a lot of nostalgia, so when the opportunity came along it was like, ‘let’s try it’.”

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