HUNGARORING -- The second of Formula One's two in-season tests got underway at the Hungaroring on Tuesday morning as all ten teams returned to action just two days after Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The test is designed to offer teams a chance to develop their cars during the year as well as offer young drivers seat time in a Formula One car. Over the four days of in-season testing each year, every team has to dedicate two days to young drivers and on Tuesday only three regular race drivers were on track along with Valtteri Bottas, who was conducting a tyre test with Pirelli in a second Mercedes.
The following drivers were on track on Tuesday morning:
Mercedes - George Russell
Ferrari - Charles Leclerc
Red Bull - Max Verstappen
Force India - Nikita Mazepin (Lucas Auer due to drive in the afternoon)
Williams - Lance Stroll
Toro Rosso - Sean Geleal
Haas - Santino Ferrucci
Renault - Nicholas Latifi
Sauber - Gustav Malja
McLaren - Stoffel Vandoorne
Pirelli - Valtteri Bottas
Robert Kubica is set to make his return to a modern F1 car on Wednesday as Renault assess the possibility of a full-time return to the sport in the future.
Bottas' tyre test will only last one day before the Italian firm heads to Barcelona for a two day test with Ferrari starting on Thursday. It's main objective is to validate its plans for the final construction of its 2018 tyres, which has to be decided by September 1. Work on compound choices will continue ahead of the final validation test in Abu Dhabi later this year.