Mercedes pair Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton edged Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday as the two teams renewed their rivalry following their controversial collision at Silverstone.
Verstappen had been quickest in the morning session but Bottas came through a blisteringly hot afternoon to set the pace with a quickest time of 1min 17.012secs, just 0.027s ahead of Hamilton.
“It feels like being in a Finnish sauna,” said Bottas.
“It’s a good comparison especially when you stop running, you get the heat. It’s way more than 60 degrees, 70 degrees in the cockpit.
“It’s sweaty but out on track at least you get a bit of air. It’s good to see that most likely we’re going to be in the fight for pole tomorrow so that’s really motivating.”