Ricciardo third as Hamilton tops times

Daniel Ricciardo is hoping for a slice of déjà vu from the Hungarian Grand Prix after qualifying fourth, the grid position he won last year’s race from.

Hamilton, four-times a victor in Hungary and clear favourite for Sunday’s race, set a best time of one minute and 23.949 seconds in the afternoon after a 1.25.141 lap in the twice halted opening session.

“It was a good day”, he said. The heat is so intense. “The balance is better and it’s an easier auto to drive than in recent races”. The half-second deficit to his world champion teammate would have been depressing for the German to digest last night as he prepared for Sunday’s race. “This circuit is a strength of ours but I did feel already from yesterday morning when I left the garage the vehicle felt more together and I had more confidence in it”.

Meanwhile, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has confirmed the team is not expected to receive an updated Renault power unit until October’s Russian Grand Prix.

Regarding 2016 and the future of the Red Bull-Renault collaboration, “We should know where things are headed in the next two weeks”, Ricciardo revealed.

Friday did see a few of the more slippery, corner-happy cars in the higher end of the standings table, but ultimately it was still Lewis Hamilton that ended up top of the list, with a.351s gap to Daniil Kvyat of Red Bull in second, which was interesting, and.7s ahead of Nico Rosberg in third, which might be even more interesting.

Asked about seeing the two Red Bulls separating him from Rosberg, Hamilton smiled.

Rosberg was in a subdued mood, as were numerous drivers in cars and helmets that carried special tributes to Bianchi, after he had continued to struggle for his best form, notably with his brakes.

Ricciardo said, “I am really happy with the session today and with my qualifying performance. So the way I see it is, it was good to be that close”.

The first red flag came out in the opening session when Perez’s wrecked Force India came to rest upside down on the track after what looked like a rear suspension failure pitched the auto sideways into the barriers. Behind him, perhaps surprisingly, was McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard setting a time of 1:25.752 to finish ahead of the Williams pair of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. The team’s tires were late arriving for first practice, in what is understood to be a effect of a late payment, and as a result it lost track time while they waited for the tires to get into their working range.