Ahead of today's second session, the air temperature is 30 degrees C, while the track temperature is 46 degrees. It remains sunny and warm, very warm.
The lights go green, and Sakon Yamamoto wasted no time in getting to work, closely followed by Sato, Davidson, Liuzzi ands Vettel.
Within five minutes of the start of the session there are eleven names on the timesheets, with Kovalainen leading the way, followed by Liuzzi, Heidfeld and Fisichella.
As Fisichella improves with a 23.518 to go second, teammate Kovalainen consolidates the top spot with a 22.465. Elsewhere, Vettel goes so far off track one assumes he's paying a visit to the water-world theme park.
As Hamilton, Alonso and Massa leave the pits, Heidfeld posts 23.006 to go second, splitting the Renaults.
Hamilton posts 23.022 to go fourth, as Massa slips in behind. Moments later, Alonso goes quickest, the Spaniard crossing the line at 22.319.
After ten minutes, only two drivers have yet to post a time, Barrichello and Raikkonen.
Robert Kubica repeats the pace of the first session, going third with a 22.678, as Alonso improves to 22.130.
As Raikkonen leaves the pits, Hamilton goes quickest (22.051), despite only being quickest in the final sector. The Finn's first lap puts him sixteenth, splitting Schumacher and Davidson.
Hamilton is the first driver to dip into the 1:21s, crossing the line at 21.729. Alonso looks set to go quicker, having gone quickest in the first sector, but then makes mistake in the second sector, going wide, and essentially wrecking the lap.
The Renaults duo hits back, with Kovalainen going quickest (21.570) and Fisichella going third. Early days, but a nice little morale booster for the French team.
Liuzzi is another victim of the dusty track, the Italian going well wide at the start of the pit straight.
A 22.325 sees Mark Webber go fifth, the Australian keen to repeat his impressive form at the Nurburgring. Elsewhere, Rosberg has a detour, giving him a nice close-up look at the Hungarian countryside.
Massa goes third and Heidfeld fourth, thus pushing Fisichella down to fifth. Meanwhile, Coulthard improves to eighth, ahead of Button, Kubica and Rosberg.
Raikkonen is now on the softer option compound and consequently goes quickest in the first sector. A poor final sector means he only manages 21.881, which is still good enough for fourth. Meanwhile, Kovalainen, also on the softer option, retakes the top spot (21.283) as his teammate goes second.
A 21.338 sees Hamilton improve to second, thereby splitting the Renaults. It is surely only a matter of time before we dip into the 1:20s.
Alonso (currently eighth) goes quickest in the first two sectors, however, he loses a heap of time in the third, after going wide, and consequently fails to improve. Next time around however, there are no mistakes, and the World Champion takes the top spot with a 20.919, less than 0.5s off last tear's pole time.
As he is pushed into his garage it looks as though he did that time on the harder compound.
At the 'wrong end' of the timesheets there are no major surprises, other than Schumacher (seventeenth). The Red Bulls are twelfth and thirteenth, ahead of the Hondas.
At 'half-time', it's: Alonso, Kovalainen, Hamilton, Rosberg, Heidfeld, Fisichella, Massa, Trulli, Raikkonen and Schumacher.
For the most part it appears that drivers are now going for laps as opposed to quick times. Button has been the busiest, having completed 26 laps, while Kovalainen, Yamamoto and Sato are all on 23.
Sutil goes wide as he attempts to improve on the 3.459s deficit to Alonso. Elsewhere, Fisichella and Hamilton have 'moments'.
On and on it goes, up to sixteen drivers are on track at any one time, completing lap after lap, but no significant improvements, or incidents.
With twenty-five minute remaining, Trulli is warned that a "very light rain shower" is heading his way. Unless it is the ultimate in micro-climates we assume everyone will be affected.
