Jules Bianchi led the way in Formula Renault 3.5 free practice at the Hungaroring on Friday.
The Ferrari junior driver, who like championship rival Sam Bird was in Formula 1 action at this week's Magny-Cours Young Driver Test, moved to the head of the times in the final five minutes. Before then he hadn't been a factor at all near the front of the field, but on his final run he put together a short sequence of impressive laps, going even faster as the session entered its final minute.
Kevin Magnussen improved at around the same time as Bianchi to go second, as both deposed morning pace-setter Antonio Felix da Costa. The Red Bull-backed driver, who led the way in a wet first session of the day, eventually finished the afternoon fourth quickest as championship leader Robin Frijns made a last-minute jump up the order to take third.
America's Alexander Rossi ended the day with the fifth-best time after he had enjoyed a brief spell at the top before da Costa and Marco Sorensen kicked off the late-session excitement with just over a quarter of an hour to go. Sorensen, who briefly led the way before da Costa deposed him, was down to sixth by the end.
While title front-runners Bianchi and Frijns opted for a quick run at the end of the day, the other man in the championship fight – Sam Bird – didn't follow their lead and ended proceedings in 14th place.
Of the championship's three newcomers this weekend, local hero Tamas Pal Kiss had the best day as he went 12th quickest. GP3 title contenders Daniel Abt (23rd) and Aaro Vainio (25th) had more low-key starts to their FR3.5 careers.
Practice one:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Antonio Felix da Costa Arden Caterham 1m50.543s
2. Marco Sorensen Lotus 1m50.823s + 0.280s
3. Sam Bird ISR 1m51.024s + 0.481s
4. Robin Frijns Fortec 1m51.207s + 0.664s
5. Mikhail Aleshin RFR 1m51.215s + 0.672s
6. Arthur Pic DAMS 1m51.320s + 0.777s
7. Kevin Magnussen Carlin 1m51.352s + 0.809s
8. Kevin Korjus Lotus 1m51.633s + 1.090s
9. Zoel Amberg Pons 1m51.706s + 1.163s
10. Walter Grubmuller P1 1m51.970s + 1.427s
11. Nico Muller Draco 1m52.055s + 1.512s
12. Alexander Rossi Arden Caterham 1m52.133s + 1.590s
13. Jules Bianchi Tech 1 1m52.266s + 1.723s
14. Nick Yelloly Comtec 1m52.393s + 1.850s
15. Daniil Move P1 1m52.819s + 2.276s
16. Tamas Pal Kiss BVM Target 1m52.885s + 2.342s
17. Lucas Foresti DAMS 1m53.165s + 2.622s
18. Will Stevens Carlin 1m53.258s + 2.715s
19. Jake Rosenzweig ISR 1m53.370s + 2.827s
20. Andre Negrao Draco 1m53.648s + 3.105s
21. Carlos Huertas Fortec 1m53.659s + 3.116s
22. Daniel Abt Tech 1 1m53.977s + 3.434s
23. Yann Cunha Pons 1m54.517s + 3.974s
24. Vittorio Ghirelli Comtec 1m54.744s + 4.201s
25. Aaro Vainio RFR 1m54.975s + 4.432s
26. Nikolay Martsenko BVM Target 1m56.379s + 5.836s
Practice two:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Jules Bianchi Tech 1 1'29.086
2. Kevin Magnussen Carlin 1m29.186s + 0.100s
3. Robin Frijns Fortec 1m29.652s + 0.566s
4. Antonio Felix da Costa Arden Caterham 1m29.661s + 0.575s
5. Alexander Rossi Arden Caterham 1m29.668s + 0.582s
6. Marco Sorensen Lotus 1m29.836s + 0.750s
7. Nick Yelloly Comtec 1m29.865s + 0.779s
8. Arthur Pic DAMS 1m29.898s + 0.812s
9. Nico Muller Draco 1m29.958s + 0.872s
10. Will Stevens Carlin 1m29.964s + 0.878s
11. Daniil Move P1 1m30.001s + 0.915s
12. Tamas Pal Kiss BVM Target 1m30.152s + 1.066s
13. Carlos Huertas Fortec 1m30.185s + 1.099s
14. Sam Bird ISR 1m30.189s + 1.103s
15. Andre Negrao Draco 1m30.294s + 1.208s
16. Kevin Korjus Lotus 1m30.384s + 1.298s
17. Walter Grubmuller P1 1m30.429s + 1.343s
18. Zoel Amberg Pons 1m30.521s + 1.435s
19. Jake Rosenzweig ISR 1m30.524s + 1.438s
20. Vittorio Ghirelli Comtec 1m30.772s + 1.686s
21. Lucas Foresti DAMS 1m30.877s + 1.791s
22. Mikhail Aleshin RFR 1m30.888s + 1.802s
23. Daniel Abt Tech 1 1m31.314s + 2.228s
24. Yann Cunha Pons 1m32.010s + 2.924s
25. Aaro Vainio RFR 1m32.698s + 3.612s
26. Nikolay Martsenko BVM Target 1m35.689s + 6.603s