Ricciardo fastest at Hungary Grand Prix's first practice

Formula One Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was the fastest at Hungary Grand Prix first practice session here on Friday.

Australian Ricciardo was at the top of the timesheet as he lapped the circuit in 1:18.486, just 0.2 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Finland driver Kimi Raikkonen and 0.37 seconds faster than Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who won the 2016 race.

Although the 2014 Hungary GP champion needed just two laps to clock the best time of the morning session, he kept on for 29 more, as he drove not just fastest, but also more than any other driver, except for Hamilton and Sauber's Swedish Marcus Ericsson, with 31 laps each.

The 28-year-old Ricciardo, the winner of the 2017 European Grand Prix, was 0.050 seconds shy of the official fastest lap set by retired Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in 2004.

Ferrari's German Sebastian Vettel, the 2017 Drivers Championship leader, one point ahead of Hamliton, lost control of his car without crashing into the barriers, but managed to be sixth fastest with 1.077 seconds off the pace.

McLaren were given a glimmer of hope, as their drivers Spanish Fernando Alonso and Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne came seventh and eighth respectively, behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes' drivers.

--IANS

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