Valtteri Bottas recorded the fastest time of second practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix, 0.027s ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Bottas' fastest lap of 1:17.012 helped Mercedes lead the way on their soft-tyre simulations, while championship leader Max Verstappen had to settle for third after his car struggled in the hot temperatures.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez came in fifth, while the Alpine duo of Esteban Ocan and Fernando Alonso finished fourth and seventh respectively.

Three-time World champion Sebastian Vettel finished eighth, with team-mate Lance Stroll completing the top 10 behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Red Bull went “a step too far” in their criticism of Hamilton over the seven-time world champion's collision with Verstappen at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Earlier this week, stewards rejected Red Bull’s attempt to hold a review into the incident, while Mercedes subsequently issued a statement in which they questioned the integrity of their rivals’ senior management.

And Wolff feels the situation could have been handled differently by Red Bull.

"I think the comments that were made, surely out of emotion, were going directly against a seven-time world champion,” he told Sky Sports F1.

"Words like 'amateurish' should have no place and what it triggered was an avalanche of comments in the social media, a lot of controversy and added to further polarisation.

"I think we, as a sport, should do the contrary. We should de-escalate."

"The remarks that were made during and after the Silverstone grand prix were just elaborated further in the document.

"Not looking at the incident only but giving it a wider paste that was beyond other things. Just a step too far."

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (P2)

1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 1:17.012
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.027s
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.298s
4. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +0.747s
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.812s
6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.101s
7. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.157s
8. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +1.216s
9. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.301s
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1.308s