Sebastian Vettel did not get the incident-free weekend he was hoping for after announcing his impending retirement on the eve of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The practice session on Saturday came after a deluge of rain which made the Budapest track very wet. Most drivers managed to avoid any incidents, though Charles Leclerc threatened to crash his Ferrari before managing to regain control after a spin.
In the end it was the man of the moment Vettel who went off as he lost control of his rear tyres. His Aston Martin skidded across the gravel before hitting the tyre wall – possibly causing damage to his gearbox in the process.
Vettel was unhurt in the incident and it didn't take long for the German to clamber out of the cockpit. But not before he dropped his usually cool demeanour to swear loudly over team radio before apologising for his mistake.
The session was briefly red flagged as rescuers came onto the track to remove the car. And a few minutes later the rest of the paddock was running again while an irritated Vettel made his way back to the pits.
The conditions made it difficult for teams to gather much data for Sunday's race, which is expected to be much drier. But it did help to prepare them for qualifying which is due to still be wet with more rain on the way in Budapest.
The track was drying throughout practice, meaning the times were improving rapidly in the final few minutes. And there was a huge surprise as Williams timed their runs perfectly to shock the standings.
Alexander Albon will have been pleased with third place, but even he was no match for Nicholas Latifi. The Canadian put in a good final flying lap to go six-tenths faster than Leclerc, who sounded baffled when he was told over the radio that he had been bested by the Williams.
