Photo: GEPA pictures/Dutch Photo Agency/Diederik van der Laan
Formula Renault 3.5 championship leader Carlos Sainz was more than two seconds clear of the field in the first session after the two month summer break at a wet Hungaroring.
In poor weather conditions that are expected to continue for the rest of the weekend, the Spaniard was never headed during the session, working his time down from a 2m02s to a 1m57.309s.
He was 2.621s ahead of second-placed Oscar Tunjo. Oliver Rowland was third ahead of Luca Ghiotto, Marco Sorensen and new Caterham F1 recruit Roberto Merhi, who currently sits second in the standings, 39 points behind his compatriot Sainz.
European F3 leader Esteban Ocon was seventh as he begins his debut weekend in the series with the Comtec team. Will Stevens, Norman Nato and Zoel Amberg completed the top ten, with Pierre Gasly 11th.
Another debutant, Ocon’s F3 team-mate Nicholas Latifi, was 16th for Tech 1. Sergey Sirotkin became a victim of the weather without setting a time, as did Pietro Fantin.
Session results
| Pos | Driver? | Team | Time? | Gap | Laps? |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | DAMS | 1:57.309 | 13 | |
| 2 | Oscar Tunjo | Pons Racing | 1:59.930 | 2.621 | 13 |
| 3 | Oliver Rowland | Fortec Motorsports | 2:00.320 | 3.011 | 9 |
| 4 | Luca Ghiotto | International Draco Racing | 2:00.549 | 3.240 | 14 |
| 5 | Marco Sorensen | Tech 1 Racing | 2:00.576 | 3.267 | 13 |
| 6 | Roberto Merhi | Zeta Corse | 2:00.637 | 3.328 | 10 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Comtec Racing | 2:00.859 | 3.550 | 14 |
| 8 | Will Stevens | Strakka Racing | 2:01.708 | 4.399 | 14 |
| 9 | Norman Nato | DAMS | 2:01.996 | 4.687 | 11 |
| 10 | Zoel Amberg | AVF | 2:02.302 | 4.993 | 12 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Arden Motorsport | 2:02.914 | 5.605 | 13 |
| 12 | Meindert van Buuren | Pons Racing | 2:03.283 | 5.974 | 11 |
| 13 | Matthieu Vaxiviere | Lotus | 2:03.362 | 6.053 | 8 |
| 14 | Roman Mavlanov | Zeta Corse | 2:03.450 | 6.141 | 9 |
| 15 | William Buller | Arden Motorsport | 2:03.678 | 6.369 | 12 |
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi | Tech 1 Racing | 2:05.787 | 8.478 | 11 |
| 17 | Matias Laine | Strakka Racing | 2:05.867 | 8.558 | 12 |
| 18 | Marlon Stockinger | Lotus | 2:06.001 | 8.692 | 11 |
| 19 | Jazeman Jaafar | ISR | 2:06.288 | 8.979 | 10 |
| 20 | Cameron Twynham | Comtec Racing | 2:07.056 | 9.747 | 14 |
| 21 | Beitske Visser | AVF | 2:07.808 | 10.499 | 9 |
| 22 | Sergey Sirotkin | Fortec Motorsports | No time | ||
| 23 | Pietro Fantin | International Draco Racing | No time |