Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two in Hungarian GP FP2; red flag halts qualifying simulations
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in Free Practice 2 at the Hungarian Grand Prix with a 1:18.729, outpacing Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc (1:18.877) by 0.148 seconds. Lando Norris was third for McLaren, with Max Verstappen and George Russell completing the top five. A red flag from Franco Colapinto's crash interrupted qualifying simulations.
Session Summary
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in Free Practice 2 for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, leading Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc with a best lap of 1:18.729s, putting him 0.148s clear of Leclerc, with Lando Norris third for McLaren, 0.499s away from the benchmark. [1]
Top Ten Classification
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:18.729 | , | 25 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:18.877 | +0.148 | 29 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:19.228 | +0.499 | 30 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Red Bull Ford | 1:19.421 | +0.692 | 26 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:19.662 | +0.933 | 29 |
| 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull/Red Bull Ford | 1:19.800 | +1.071 | 19 |
| 7 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford | 1:20.041 | +1.312 | 29 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:20.101 | +1.372 | 28 |
| 9 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 1:20.125 | +1.396 | 30 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford | 1:20.253 | +1.524 | 29 |
Data source: FIA[1]
Context: Single-Lap Pace
Key Events and Red Flag
The session was red-flagged just before the halfway point as Alpine's Colapinto (P21) spun on entry to the final corner and hit the barriers with the rear of his car. [2] After Colapinto's crash, FP2 resumed with 26 minutes left, with a train of cars waiting to leave the pits for qualifying simulations on soft tyres, with a few drivers having been interrupted by the red flag. [2]
Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli did not get representative soft tyre laps in, partly due to a red flag from Franco Colapinto's final corner crash right in the middle of the soft tyre laps. [3] Kimi Antonelli was 13th and the only driver to have set their fastest lap on mediums rather than softs; Antonelli, who was almost two seconds off the pace, complained of rear lockups under braking as he chased a better set-up throughout FP2. [2]
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll failed to record a time in FP2 after stopping on track during Friday's opening practice session. [3]
Related reading
[1]: FIA Formula 1, "F1 - Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two in Hungarian Grand Prix FP2," accessed July 24, 2026, https://www.fia.com/news/f1-hamilton-leads-ferrari-one-two-hungarian-grand-prix-fp2 [2]: The Race, "What happened in red-flagged second Hungarian GP practice," accessed July 24, 2026, https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-happened-in-red-flagged-second-hungary-gp-practice/ [3]: PlanetF1, "2026 Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 F1 results," accessed July 24, 2026, https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-results-hungarian-grand-prix-2026-fp2
- [1]F1 - Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two in Hungarian Grand Prix FP2 (fia). Accessed 2026-07-24.
- [2]What happened in red-flagged second Hungarian GP practice (the-race). Accessed 2026-07-24.
- [3]2026 Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 F1 results (planetf1). Accessed 2026-07-24.