The weekend started on Friday with the first two free practice session and it turned into a productive day at the Hungaroring for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team.

The first free practice session on Friday morning saw Marcus Ericsson in the cockpit of one of the team's two Sauber C37s with Ferrari-supported junior driver Antonio Giovinazzi back on track for a second week running in the other, this time displacing Leclerc.

With torrid temperatures and demanding track conditions posing a challenge, both drivers reported having to focus on managing the tyres especially well.

Unfortunately, Ericsson’s FP1 session was cut short due to some minor damage caused to the tyres by his spin while Giovinazzi gave another consistent performance, and supported the team by completing the planned programme, and giving his feedback following his free practice session.

The second free practice session ahead saw Leclerc take back over the cockpit of his C37. Both Ericsson and Leclerc reported having some work to do in optimizing their performances for the rest of the weekend.

After working on both cars overnight, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team had a productive third free practice session and was ready to tackle the qualifying session, when the rain shuffled the cards.

As qualifying approached, the weather conditions suddenly changed, with temperatures dropping and rain starting to fall. Ericsson and Leclerc started the session on intermediate tyres.

With changing conditions on track, both drivers pitted and opted for dry tyres after a few laps, and pushed to complete their fastest laps. Ericsson advanced to Q2, while Leclerc only managed to finish the hectic and challenging qualifying session in seventeenth place and was eliminated at the first hurdle.

With Ferrari Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne, who was widely believed to be championing Leclerc's promotion to the Scuderia for next season in place of incumbent Kimi Raikkonen, passing away in the middle of last week, and off the back of a mistake strewn grand prix last weekend for Leclerc, the pressure could be starting to tell on the youngster as the rails start to come off his dream rookie season at just the wrong time.

The second round of qualifying was even more chaotic due to increased rain. Ericsson ultimately finished the session in P14, after a yellow flag hindered his final fast lap.

Nevertheless, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team will head into today’s grand prix feeling optimistic, having shown good pace and having made improvements throughout the weekend.

The two Sauber cars are carrying black flashes on their halos this weekend in rememberance of Marchionne, the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO who passed away last week and was instrumental in putting in place the title sponsorship arrangement by Alfa Romeo with the Swiss team for this season.

Marcus Ericsson

C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 14th in Q2 (1:18.641 min / ultrasoft tyres)
1st practice: 20th / 1:20.697 min (12 laps) / 2nd practice: 16th / 1:19.043 min (42 laps) / 3rd practice: 18th (1:18.842 min / ultrasoft tyres / 18 laps)

“It was a very difficult qualifying with the weather conditions playing a very big part in it. Conditions were tricky and reminded me a lot of Hockenheim, but I felt really comfortable. It was nice to go into Q2 – it was very close though. In Q2 I had the yellow flag when the track was at its best. I tried to improve but there was too much water on the track. It’s still a good result. P14 is a decent place to start from and we will see what we can do from there.”

Charles Leclerc

C37 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 17th in Q1 (1:18.817 min / ultrasoft tyres)
2nd practice: 17th / 1:19.137 min (38 laps) / 3rd practice: 13th (1:18.376 min / ultrasoft tyres / 19 laps)

“It was not a good day for me. Qualifying was tricky as it started raining lightly just before the session started. We went out on intermediate tyres; however, the track was too dry to put in good lap times. After we changed to ultrasoft tyres, we got back in the mix, but all of the teams were advancing quickly and positions were changing within seconds. At the end, it was not enough today. I hope that the race tomorrow will be an interesting one, and that we will be able to make some progress.”

Antonio Giovinazzi

C37 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
1st practice: 18th / 1:20.293 min (31 laps)

“It was another productive free practice session – my second one with the team so far this season. It was great to be back in the car after just a week again, and I am starting to get a better feeling for it. As it was last week, my target today was to complete the full programme and give as much feedback to the team as possible. I am happy with this. I look forward to being back in the car for a day of testing with the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team next week.”