The 31-year-old had been linked in the media with a possible move away after a series of run-ins with Hamilton including a collision on the final lap of this month’s Austrian Grand Prix.
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Rosberg, demoted to third after the British Grand Prix following a breach of the sport’s strict radio rules, has seen his hefty championship lead of 43 points wiped out in the space of just five races.
Verstappen’s errors allowed Sebastian Vettel to split the Red Bull’s, but any hope of a repeat of last year’s victory at the Hungaroring look slim with the Ferrari driver 0.913s off the pace of Rosberg’s Mercedes.
Hamilton’s accident was the only high-profile incident of the session, run in hot conditions with track temperatures in the forties.
Lewis Hamilton got his Hungarian Grand Prix weekend off to the best possible start by topping the order in opening practice on Friday.
The fresh directive also clarifies that the radio restrictions will not apply if a auto is in the pit lane, whereas earlier they kicked in as soon as the vehicle left the garage.
He underwent a precautionary check at the medical centre and appeared fine but his vehicle had to be fully tested, ruling him out for the rest of the session.
Nico Rosberg, accompanied by a butterfly, topped FP2 by over half-a-second.
“It’s come about because fans said we were like puppets out there, just doing what the engineers are saying”, Rosberg said. “The best approach for me to win is to focus on the weekend that’s at hand”. Though it is somewhat bright, the track remains damp following earlier showers, meaning we could see some initial running on Inters. “Let’s go back to V12s, manual gearbox, just two buttons, one for pit speed limiter and one for radio and just confirm that we’re coming in”.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull was fourth and Hamilton, despite completing only four laps before his accident, was fifth. “The most important thing is that Lewis was unharmed despite the impact”. “If you want to change it you should change the cars”, he said. “Now we’re trying this and I think it’s ok”.
Speculation in Budapest suggests that new Sauber owner Longbow Investment comprises Swede Ericsson’s sponsors, which would put him in pole position to keep his place at the team, though he refused to confirm. “The track is quite smooth, the kerbs are quite good”, said Pat Symonds, chief technical officer with Williams.
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But Mercedes, and Rosberg, will be happy with the work they’ve done on Friday. “The kerbs are smoother… certainly the kerbs are making a difference on lap time”. “It is my dream team, my racing family and it is home”.
