George Russell experienced a day of limited track time at the Hungaroring as poor weather conditions resulted in little running in practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

In the opening 90-minute session on Friday morning, the Briton completed 29 tours of the 4.381km-long venue in Budapest, clocking a best lap of a 1:18.574s to secure the 18th fastest time.

Brief showers masked the track evolution in FP1 and in the afternoon, deteriorating weather conditions resulted in a second practice period composed of limited track activity over the first half.

George completed two installation laps in this second session and with little opportunity for learning, Williams Racing opted to protect its FW43 cars in the low grip, low visibility circuit environment.

George Russell – Williams Racing Driver

“This morning during FP1 and in the dry conditions, the car was feeling alright, nothing special, but our focus was on trying some different set-up changes. We know where our baseline is and we know what we are going to get from the car, so we have gone in different directions to see if we can get more performance. Nothing we tried offered more performance, which suggests that we were in a good position from the off. Although I only did an out and an in lap due to the moist conditions in FP2, the car felt fine on those two laps. I am sure it will be a hectic session tomorrow if the conditions stay the same, but I think that is what we need to mix things up a bit. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and will be ready with the rest of the boys to try and pounce on that.”

George will again take to the Hungaroring on Saturday morning to continue his preparations ahead of qualifying which will determine the grid for Sunday’s race.