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Heikki Kovalainen topped first practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix from Williams' Nico Rosberg and McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Briton Hamilton headed the timesheets briefly in the final minutes, only to see Rosberg (1:22.337) then Kovalainen (1:22.278) better his time.

The Finn won last year's race at the Hungaroring - his only triumph - and has updates on his MP4-24 this weekend similar to those on the car of the reigning world champion.

British World Championship leader Jenson Button was 10th as he seeks to challenge for the podium after two races in the lesser points, also sporting upgrades on his Brawn BGP 001.

The warmer temperatures near Budapest after cold races in Britain and Germany are expected to assist the team's performance.

His title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber of Red Bull, who have taken one-two finishes in the last two races, were 15th and fourth respectively.

Spanish teenage debutant Jaime Alguersuari was last as he became accustomed to the Toro Rosso, only 0.23 seconds behind 19th-placed team-mate Sebastien Buemi having completed over 40 laps - over half race distance.

Japanese Kazuki Nakajima - yet to score a point this season - impressed with fifth in the other Williams ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli and the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.

Fernando Alonso took ninth spot while colleague Nelson Piquet Jr, fighting for his future at Renault, was down in 17th.

The struggling BMW Sauber pairing of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld saw a cautious improvement of 11th and 12th, with Rubens Barrichello - who slammed his team after a disappointing German GP - 13th.

Stay with Eurosport-Yahoo! for news, LIVE comments and timing from the Hunagrian GP practice sessions, qualifying and race itself!

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport