Lando Norris emerged fastest after the first practice session for the Hungarian GP, as drivers took advantage of dry running.
Green light in Hungarian GP practice
At the green light for FP1 at the Hungarian GP, a queue formed at the end of the pit lane as the cars took to the track. Felipe Drugovich substituted for Fernando Alonso, who pulled out of the session due to a back injury.
Paul Aron was another new face on the track, replacing Nico Hulkenberg for FP1 in the Sauber, hoping for a good result.
Drivers began pushing immediately with the two McLarens leading from Max Verstappen on mediums. The top three exchanged fastest laps in the opening minutes, before George Russell jumped to the top of the timesheets after seven minutes.
Circuit performance ramped up, as Carlos Sainz and and Alex Albon moved into second and third on hard tyres. Sainz’s efforts were less than a tenth of a second slower than Russell.
Pierre Gasly’s session was threatened after just ten minutes of track time, as the Frenchman complained of no power. The Alpine driver crawled back to the pits, pushed back into the garage by his mechanics.
The two Ferraris took a turn in the top two places, before Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri resumed their mantle at the top of Hungarian GP practice. Piastri’s time moved him over six tenths clear of his team-mate. With fifteen minutes to go, Lance Stroll was the sole driver yet to set a time.
The second and third sectors seemed to be where the McLarens at an advantage at the Hungarian GP.C Charles Leclerc’s latest effort saw a fastest first sector, but finished four tenths behind Piasti.
Those who pitted for new tyres found performance. Leclerc jumped to the top on soft tyres. Alex Albon continued to show the pace of Williams by moving into the top four on hard tyres.
Focus switches to soft tyre runs
As the session headed towards the halfway mark, the field began to head back to the pits for setup changes.
Lewis Hamilton complained of the car not feeling good, opting for a more detailed debrief back in the garage.
Paul Aron pulled off the track with a critical systems failure, ending his session. Stopping by a marshals post, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to recover the stricken Sauber.
Franco Colapinto was the first to take to the track on the soft tyres, moving into sixth. The two Ferrari’s were next, with Leclerc winning the intra team duel to move to the top of the times. Hamilton finished almost three tenths behind. Albon showed the pace of the WIlliams to move into third, less than a tenth behind Leclerc.
Norris pulled over half a second in the first two sectors, to move almost seven tenths clear of Leclerc to resume his place at the top of the times. Piastri, down in 13th, responded with a time 0.142 behind Norris.
The two Red Bulls were 10th and 11th, Max Verstappen conspicuous in his absence during the session. With less than 20 minutes to go, his first first lap moved him up to sixth, almost a second away from Norris. Isack Hadjar sprang a surprise, moving to fourth place.
Drivers focused on longer runs for the last ten minutes, with the order not changing before session ended.
Session classification
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Charles Leclerc
- Isack Hadjar
- Lewis Hamilton
- Oliver Bearman
- Kimi Antonelli
- George Russell
- Max Verstappen
- Lance Stroll
- Alex Albon
- Esteban Ocon
- Pierre Gasly
- Liam Lawson
- Carlos Sainz
- Felipe Drugovich
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Franco Colapinto
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Paul Aron
