Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominated this morning's first practice session in Budapest by recording a Red Bull 1-2 almost one second clear of the rest of the field. Vettel topped the times on a 1m20.976s, followed a tenth behind by team-mate Webber (1m21.106s), but the next quickest was Robert Kubica after setting a time of 1m22.072s, over a second behind Vettel.

Coming here with just a third place from last Sunday's German Grand Prix, Red Bull have started exceptionally strongly, with previous main challengers Ferrari and McLaren well behind. Nevertheless, with many teams spending the session testing new parts and coming to grips with the track, Red Bull's advantage may not be so clear-cut as we move through the weekend.

Behind Kubica was reigning world champion Jenson Button who set a time of 1m22.444s, almost 1.5 seconds off the pace. Williams' Rubens Barrichello (1m22.601s) was fifth, followed by BMW Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa (1m22.764s). German GP winner Fernando Alonso (1m22.772s) was less than a tenth ahead of Mercedes GP team-mates Nico Rosberg (1m22.777s) and Michael Schumacher (1m22.792s).

Nico Hülkenberg (1m22.966s) rounded out the top ten in the second Williams, just ahead of Force India's Adrian Sutil (1m23.003s) who was testing his team's blown diffuser for the first time, and Ferrari's Felipe Massa (1m23.007s). Renault's Vitaly Petrov (1m23.249s) was over a second behind team-mate Kubica as he tasted the Hungaroring for the first time with F1 power, while Kamui Kobayashi (1m23.327s) was six tenths behind his team-mate.

Paul di Resta was back in action for Force India, stepping in for Vitantonio Liuzzi for the duration of the session, as he completed 19 laps with a fastest time of 1m23.520s. Toro Rosso's struggle continued at the back of the established field, with Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari going over 2.8 seconds slower than parent team Red Bull. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was 18th, after completing just 15 laps with a fastest of 1m24.075s.

Of the new teams, Lotus Racing have pulled clear as forecast, with the Hungaroring layout suiting the characteristics of their car more than the recently visited Hockenheimring. Jarno Trulli (1m25.032s) led team-mate Heikki Kovalainen (1m25.210s), seven tenths clear of main rivals Virgin, where Timo Glock (1m25.990s) easily had the upper hand of team-mate Lucas Di Grassi (1m26.686s). Hispania's Bruno Senna (1m26.990s) and Sakon Yamamoto (1m28.157s) rounded out the 24 runners.

As the Hungaroring circuit to the north-east of Budapest is rarely used outside the Formula One Grand Prix weekend, conditions started off very dusty and slippery, with many drivers running side off the track in search of grip. Although there were no crashes, Adrian Sutil and Vitaly Petrov did spin their cars around, Sutil at turn 2 and Petrov at the final corner. Both continued without damage though.

Times are likely to improve and mistakes lessen as more rubber is laid down on-track and the support races continue to clear the surface. Today's second session kicks off at 14.00 local time (12.00 UTC).