Farewell Hungary, all eyes on Belgium 👀

Okay, thank you, Alex. So, yeah, that's P14. Yeah, it was quite a tough day in hot conditions, so thank you for sticking with it. ALEX to PIT Yeah, it was a bit difficult. I don't think we had the pace today. I don't know why. JAMES to ALEX Alex, well done for persisting with it. I also don't think we had the car that need for us for points today, but irrespective, certainly a lot for a visit. Well done for fighting through that. A really great start.

P14 at the line...

Starting final lap.

Tyres are completely gone. PIT to ALEX You've done a good job on those blues. There's six laps to go.

Hamilton and Verstappen collide whilst lapping Alex, our No23 stays well clear... Lap 65/70 - P14

So, it's only turns 2 and turn 4 that Magnussen is quicker than us. If he gets close, he'll need to take more. ALEX to PIT Yep, let's relax for a bit.

Not too much to report, Alex currently 4.2s behind Hulkenberg as he serves blue flags...

20 laps remaining.

Stroll gets through at T1 on the following lap. Alex now sits P14.

Alex jumps to P13 as Bottas and Stroll stop, but expect the Canadian to come back through shortly on much fresher rubber...

Alex is P1, 2.5s behind Hulkenberg, 8s ahead of Magnussen...

Several positions gained in a couple of laps, a combination of stops made and passing Zhou on track...

Ocon has stopped and comes out seven seconds behind our No23...

Alex makes his second stop, putting fresh hards on. It's a little on the slow side and he returns to the circuit in P20.

So, Alex, we're now thinking we're going to have to go to plan B. ALEX to PIT Yeah, but I don't appreciate when you do that. PIT to ALEX Yeah, Alex, we're not close enough to make plan C work, so plan B as your own will not work for us.

We're now thinking plan C, minus two.

A good defence from Alex is over, Stroll gets past at T2 - he's P14 for now...

I have about seven, eight tenths in hand.

Alex jumps Stroll as the Canadian pits - he's P14 for now with others ahead still to pit...

He's just holding the group up... PIT to ALEX Understood, we're thinking plan A minus four.

Alex is the first carriage in an Alonso train, trying to see if he can hassle the two-time champion...

Does Alonso have damage? He's so slow! PIT to ALEX No, Alex, we think he's just managing, trying to help Stroll to get his pit stop on us.

Others pit and Alex jumps a couple more spots, Alonso rejoins just ahead of him... Lap 9/70

Alex is in and out at the end of Lap 6, fresh hards for him... back out in P18.

COME ON! PIT to ALEX Awesome job on the start, mate.

Alex is already up to P9 at the end of the opening tour...

LIGHTS OUT!

Here we go, one last lap to prep...

New soft tyres for Alex at the start...

Radio check, Alex. ALEX to PIT Yep, copy.

Pre-race protocol complete, it's now race time...

Alex is at the start with the 19 other drivers for the pre-race Hungarian National Anthem...

Atmosphere is building here on the grid, as is the heat... it's baking!

A few recce laps completed, now it's around to his P13 grid spot...

Drivers Parade ✅

Welcome to our live coverage of Alex's progress at the 2024 Hungarian GP! Make sure you've unlocked the latest stamp before we get started...

It's P13 for Alex, a tenth shy of the top 10... full focus on tomorrow's race!

It's 1:16.429... and we wait...

Go push.

It's one-shot quali, fresh soft tyres on his FW46 as he rolls out...

First Q2 push complete, time to prep for the second...

It's a 1:17.103 for Albono, he's P13 for now...

Albono has used softs fitted for his first Q2 send..

Q2 is underway and it looks set to be dry from here until the end...

The track ramped up and Alex improved on his final push to go P5 - 1:17.280

Go push.

We're back underway, and Alex returns on softs...

Perez hits the barrier at Turn 8, he's OK and out. Alex was just preparing to roll out but everyone is forced to stay whilst the Red Bull is recovered.

Alex improves, he's P10 as he pits...

Alex opens once more, currently P9...

1:18.378 on his first time...

Q1 is underway, soft tyres fitted as he ventures out to a slippery track...

We've just had a shower here at the Hungaroring, which adds a little extra drama to an already tight field...

Checking the conditions 👀

Alex is in some final engineering meetings before Qualifying gets started at the top of the hour...

We'll be back for full coverage of Quali, don't forget to claim your latest passport stamp at the top of the feed...

P7 for Alex after FP3, all eyes on Qualifying....

No time found on his latest lap, Alex is back in for a practice stop before returning to take the flag for a practice start...

Go push.

Three lap old soft tyres on Alex's car, he's back on track again...

Back in the garage after wrapping his latest soft push...

A 1:16.661 for Alex, placing him P4 for the time being...

Alex is back on track with some new soft tyres bolted on...

Alex improves up to P11, he's heading in to lay rubber on the pit box before returning to the garage...

Alex is back on track, soft tyres fitted once again...

Alex returns to the garage after a single push on the softs...

Alex is the first to complete a lap in quali sim and briefly goes P1 with a 1:17.646...

Alex rolls out on soft tyres...

Only nine drivers have been out on track so far, with just two completing a lap - Alex will be on track shortly...

FP3 is underway, no immediate rush out of the garage...

Ready for FP3 💪

It's Saturday and Alex will be racing the stopwatch here in Hungary later this afternoon, but first it's FP3...

Alex performs one burnout before conducting a practice start from... pole. Is that a sign for this time tomorrow? Who knows... Join us for more live coverage from FP3 and Qualifying in Hungary tomorrow.

And that's almost it for Friday's running! Time for some burnouts and practice starts.

Plenty of data to be gathered from these high-fuel runs as the session ticks to a close.

"That's three time laps remaining. Just try increasing management turn 11. See if that helps."

"That's 11 laps remaining. 11 laps."

"Lap-time target will be high 1:24s" Time for some high-fuel runs.

Alex fires up and heads out again. Medium tyres fitted this time. And he takes a moment for a practice start at the end of the pit lane too.

Back to the pits for the moment. Just less than twenty minutes remaining in the session, and Alex is running in the top ten.

These are quali-simulation runs now. Alex sets a 1:18.514 to rise to P5 for the moment.

"We'd expect everyone in this queue to be doing the same run. We're the q0th car in the queue. We just need to make a gap at the pit exit before the safety car line."

There's a queue in the pit lane as the clock ticks down towards the green light. Alex is in the line behind Lando in the McLaren, with the soft tyres on. 28 minutes remain in the session.

Session is to resume in 5 minutes' time, say Race Control. This disruption will have changed Alex's run plan, however.

Alex is in the box, but in the meantime Charles has made contact with the wall at the exit of Turn 4 and spun out. He is thankfully fine and out of the car, but there will be some time spent repairing the barriers there.

"Ok, box Alex, box."

Alex shaves a couple of tenths off his time for a 1:19.263. He is P7 as it stands.

Alex runs through the pit lane and heads back out. Plenty of adjustments on the steering wheel, before he heads round to get set for another push lap.

"Same comment as before, with the understeer." "OK, copy that."

Alex's first time is a 1:19.420. Plenty more to learn from this run.

"Go switch to go push. And go push!

Our man has the yellow-walled medium tyres on for his first run in this session.

We are underway for the second practice hour at the Hungaroring. What can Albono learn from this next session?

TIME TO GO 👀

Time to get back on the circuit. FP2 is next.

We'll be back in a few hours for FP2! See you all then for some more scorching on track action with Albono 👋

The chequered flag is waved to signal the end of first practice here in Hungary! Alex ends FP1 in P14 on the leaderboard and heads to the grid for some practice starts and burnouts as we close the session...

Track temperature reaching over 60 degrees here as we approach the final few minutes of practice! Albono still managing the same set of soft tyres - 9 laps on them so far...

10 minutes to go here and Alex is back on track for what will likely be a final practice stint of the session...

That view...

Albono cruises back to the pits once again for the time being...

Albono back onto the circuit after that slight inchident - same set of soft tyres on his FW46...

It looks as though some carbon fibre has come off Alex's FW46 onto the track. It seems the piece may have come loose after coming into contact with the kerb potentially at Turn 11 - Albono's car currently being taped up where the breakaway occured.

Alex boxes after three laps on the softs. Albono complaining of bad degradation on that last lap.

Alex goes P1 for now with his first lap time on softs! A 1:19.794 on the board...

Alex takes to the Hungaroring once again - now with some fresh red-walled Pirellis on his speed machine...

Albono heads back to the garage for the time being - currently P6 on the board...

Alex picks up the pace and improves on his previous lap time with a 1:20.631

"You're doing a good job with the tyres. The rears are in a good place now"

"The car actually feels quite nice. It feels pretty good..."

Alex sets a first time of the day with a 1:20.834 to go P6 for the time being!

And Alex rolls out onto the Hungaroring for the first time in 2024! Fresh mediums on his FW46...

We are underway in Free Practice 1! Alex currently getting set in the garage - let's go Albono!

Alex, Jacques and Patrick walking the paddock earlier

The weather here in Hungary doesn't do anything by half measures! Currently an absolute scorcher out there, we've taken shade in the garage to bring you all the updates in this first practice session...

Good afternoon from Mogyoród! The skies have dried and it's almost time for Alex to make a splash in FP1 - 30 minutes till on track action...