Strategy

Practice round-up: Ferrari dominates Friday at Hungaroring; Norris lights it up in FP3

Answer

Confirmed

Charles Leclerc topped FP1 for Ferrari despite a late mechanical issue; Lewis Hamilton extended Ferrari's advantage in FP2 with both cars establishing a sizeable margin over rivals. Lando Norris broke that streak in FP3, edging Hamilton by 0.117s as McLaren and Mercedes closed the gap overnight. Practice pace is indicative, not predictive.

FP1: Ferrari's early statement

Charles Leclerc topped FP1 for the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, but his session ended with just over five minutes to go as his Ferrari stopped in the pit lane. ^[1] Max Verstappen was second, and teammate Lewis Hamilton third. ^[2] Leclerc produced a 1:19.075 on the soft tyres to finish 0.484 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen, while Lewis Hamilton completed the top three for Ferrari, 0.543 seconds behind his teammate. ^[3]

Isack Hadjar finished fourth for Red Bull Racing, edging George Russell by 0.069 seconds, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli sitting out the session as Frederik Vesti took over his Mercedes. ^[3] A rear suspension failure for Lance Stroll caused a red flag, while Leclerc's session ended early when a suspected mechanical problem forced him to stop near the end of the pit lane. ^[3]

FP2: Ferrari consolidates

Lewis Hamilton made it two in two for Ferrari in free practice for the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc in second. The Brit went quickest, a tenth and a half quicker than his teammate, with Lando Norris in third, almost half a second behind. ^[4] Norris improved hugely from his FP1 running however, two tenths ahead of Max Verstappen in fourth. George Russell was fifth, ahead of Isack Hadjar in sixth. ^[4]

FP3: McLaren and Mercedes fight back

Lando Norris topped FP3 with 1:17.939, just 0.117s ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Kimi Antonelli 0.129s further back in third. The world champion went fastest for McLaren just edging out the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli. ^[5] In fourth came Leclerc, ahead of Piastri and Russell in P5 and P6, respectively. Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar made up seventh and eighth, while the top ten at FP3 was rounded up by Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg. ^[6]

Ferrari had looked quick throughout Friday and Saturday looked no different, but Mercedes and McLaren appeared to find overnight pace to at least reduce the gap to the Maranello outfit. ^[5]

Mandatory rookie outings in FP1

Frederik Vesti, in for Kimi Antonelli, was in seventh, with Lando Norris 11th and Leonardo Fornaroli, in for Oscar Piastri, placing 16th. ^[6] Paul Aron (Alpine) also stood in for Franco Colapinto, with Colton Herta (Cadillac) and Ryo Hirakawa (Haas) replacing Valtteri Bottas and Oliver Bearman. ^[7] These five rookie drivers fulfilled part of the 2026 season's mandatory FP1 talent development requirement; teams must give rookie drivers additional track time across the season.