29/07/2022
NEWS STORY
Despite splitting the Ferraris in second practice, Lando Norris is philosophical in terms of what he expects from this weekend.
While the Briton was just 0.217s off Charles Leclerc's FP2 pace, teammate Daniel Ricciardo was fifth, 0.427s off the pace but ahead of Perez and the Mercedes pair.
Despite the promising start to the weekend however, Norris isn't getting carried away.
"Things are feeling good," he said. "The car is in a good place, it seems to be suiting this track or characteristics a little bit more.
"But we're always a little bit quicker in FP2 than what we end up being normally," he quickly added. "We turn it up a little bit more than what others do just to get our first reading ahead of qualifying, which is what we've got today.
"I think we can say that the car is in a reasonable position," he continued. ""We're probably a little bit ahead of where we were in Paul Ricard, but I'm not expecting to be fighting for pole or anything, just aiming for a better position than we were (in France).
"We know everyone else, especially Ferrari, Red Bull... Mercedes, normally step it up a lot for tomorrow," he admitted. "We're feeling good, I think I can be happy, but I'm not expecting to be fighting for pole or anything."
Adding to the conundrum is that rain is expected for much of Saturday, while Sunday will be dry much cooler. Asked if a wet qualifying session might improve his chances, Norris' response was typically forthright.
"At the minute I'd say no, just because we're in a good position," he admitted. "It could cause opportunities for me, but also for everyone else. So the safest bet is for it to stay dry.
"But we were pretty decent in the wet here last year, or I was until turn one," he added, recalling how he was eliminated by Valtteri Bottas at the start.
"I love those conditions," he grinned, "it's what I've done well in in the past, so I could say yes. But I'm also feeling comfortable in the dry at the minute, so for now I want to say that some sunshine can stay."
Teammate Ricciardo, though buoyed by the performance over the course of the two sessions, shared his teammate's opinion in terms of what might be on the table.
"We were actually competitive this morning as well," said the Australian. "Being competitive in both sessions hopefully says something. Hopefully means that we actually are competitive, but I don't think we're competitive to fight for a pole.
"Maybe the track does suit us a bit more," he added. "I'm sure we made a step, but probably not that big a step. They will probably find a little more on Saturday come crunch time. But I think it was a good day, I think we certainly hit the ground running."
Check out our Friday gallery from the Hungaroring here.