Lando Norris continued his Friday dominance at the Hungaroring, topping both practice sessions ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri, while Max Verstappen endured a frustrating day in a Red Bull he called “undriveable.”
FP1: Close margins up front as McLaren show early hand
The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend kicked off with McLaren setting the tone. Lando Norris edged out team-mate Oscar Piastri by just 0.019s in Free Practice 1, clocking a 1:16.052 on the Soft compound. Charles Leclerc followed in third for Ferrari, a quarter of a second back.
Oscar Piastri had gone quickest early on, but Norris quickly found rhythm on the Mediums, then later on Softs, reclaiming the top spot with a lap seven tenths clear of the field at one stage. Piastri eventually closed the gap, but Norris held firm.
Behind the McLarens, Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar continued his strong form with a P4 finish, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Haas’ Ollie Bearman showed promise with sixth place, while Kimi Antonelli narrowly beat George Russell to seventh.
Max Verstappen’s opening session wasn’t smooth. The Dutchman, on Mediums, only managed P9 as Red Bull appeared off the pace from the outset. Meanwhile, Felipe Drugovich stepped in for Fernando Alonso and ended his run in 16th. Paul Aron, fulfilling his mandatory rookie session in place of Nico Hülkenberg, completed just nine laps before a technical issue cut his running short.
FP2: Norris extends gap, Verstappen hits trouble
McLaren picked up right where they left off in FP2. Norris again set the benchmark, this time pulling almost three tenths clear of Piastri with a 1:15.624 on the C5 Soft tyre. Leclerc once again slotted into third, this time 0.399s off the pace.
Initial laps were set on Mediums, with Yuki Tsunoda briefly leading before being displaced by George Russell and then the McLarens. Once the soft-tyre qualifying simulations began, Lance Stroll jumped to the top with a 1:16.221. But the McLarens quickly shut that down. Piastri laid down a 1:15.915 before Norris responded with the fastest lap of the day.
There was more drama for Verstappen, who could only manage 14th. A mysterious object left in the cockpit compromised his early lap, leading him to toss it out in frustration at Turn 3. Race Control confirmed the incident is under investigation. Even once back on Mediums later in the session, Verstappen reported the car was “basically undriveable.”
At the other end of the spectrum, Aston Martin enjoyed a quiet resurgence. Stroll ended the day P4, while Fernando Alonso, back in the car after a back complaint, improved steadily to take fifth. Hamilton was sixth for Ferrari, with George Russell, Hadjar, Tsunoda and Antonelli rounding out the top ten.
Midfield movers and new faces
Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon were again close together for Haas, both within a tenth of Antonelli. Nico Hülkenberg returned to the car in FP2 after sitting out FP1 as part of the mandated rookie running, where Paul Aron’s session was cut short by a technical issue.
Elsewhere, Kimi Antonelli continued his quiet push to rebuild confidence after a challenging recent run. The young Mercedes driver edged ahead of team-mate George Russell in FP1 with a tidy lap for P7, but couldn’t match him in FP2, slipping to 10th as Russell found more one-lap pace. While not headline-grabbing, it was a clean, drama-free day. A small but important step for Antonelli as he looks to steady his form heading into the summer break.
Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon both found themselves outside the top ten across both sessions. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto ended his first Friday in P20 after a more subdued FP2 showing.
Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto had a muted Friday, finishing P17 in both sessions and struggling to find a rhythm around one of the tightest circuits on the calendar. While not disastrous, the lack of step-to-step improvement will give the team plenty to review overnight as the Brazilian continues adapting to F1’s top level.
The bigger picture heading into Saturday
McLaren’s pace looks genuine, with Norris and Piastri both comfortable across compounds. Ferrari appear in the mix, though Leclerc’s gains on Softs weren’t enough to challenge the orange cars.
The biggest surprise may be how far Red Bull are off. Tsunoda found some rhythm to get into the top 10, but Verstappen’s ongoing complaints about the RB21’s balance raise serious questions heading into qualifying.
Antonelli is making small gains. Bearman continues to deliver for Haas. And Hadjar might be the midfield dark horse of the weekend.
Qualifying could come down to McLaren versus Ferrari. But if Red Bull can’t find answers overnight, Saturday may just confirm that this weekend isn’t theirs to fight for.