The 40th anniversary of the Hungarian Grand Prix kicked off with an intense trio of practice sessions at the 4.381-kilometre Hungaroring. With high downforce requirements and several teams introducing major technical updates, including Aston Martin’s heavily revised B-spec car, the weekend opened with dramatic shifts in momentum, spinning rear ends, and red flags across Friday and Saturday running.

Free Practice 1: Leclerc Tops Red-Flagged Opener Before Late Drama

Scuderia Ferrari set the early pace under the hot Budapest sun as Charles Leclerc headed Free Practice 1, outpacing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton. The Monegasque posted a session-best 1m 19.075s on the soft Pirelli compound, establishing a comfortable half-second margin over Verstappen. The opening hour featured significant rookie participation across the grid. Five young drivers stepped in for mandatory FP1 sessions, most notably Fred Vesti filling in for championship leader Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes. Leonardo Fornaroli took Oscar Piastri’s seat at McLaren, while Ryo Hirakawa (Haas), Paul Aron (Alpine), and Colton Herta (Cadillac) also joined the action.

Early benchmark laps rotated between George Russell and Verstappen, with the Dutchman complaining of harsh downshifts on his Red Bull. As the track laid down rubber, Leclerc lowered the bar significantly before the red flag brought running to a temporary halt with 20 minutes remaining. Lance Stroll, debuting Aston Martin’s major B-spec package, suffered a sudden left-rear suspension failure on the exit of Turn 3, sending him into a spin and bringing his session to an abrupt end.

When action resumed, teams prioritized soft-tyre qualifying simulations. While Leclerc held P1 until the checkered flag, his hour ended on a concerning note when he brought his Ferrari to a stop in the pit entry following a mechanical issue at Turn 13. Verstappen and Hamilton completed the top three, followed by Isack Hadjar, Russell, and an impressive Gabriel Bortoleto for Audi.

Free Practice 2: Hamilton Leads Ferrari One-Two as Colapinto Crashes

The evening practice session belonged to Lewis Hamilton, who headed a Scuderia Ferrari 1-2 ahead of Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris. With gusting winds and tricky track grip causing balance headaches across the field, several drivers reported handling woes, including Russell, who described his Mercedes as completely out of balance. Aston Martin’s woes continued as Stroll was forced to sit out FP2 entirely due to extensive repairs needed from his FP1 suspension collapse. This left Fernando Alonso to single-handedly gather data on the team’s revised chassis.

Initial runs on the medium rubber saw the Ferrari duo establish early dominance before Norris launched McLaren’s upgraded package to the top of the timesheets with a 1m 19.228s on soft tyres. However, the session was brought to a halt shortly after when Franco Colapinto lost control of his Alpine at the final corner, spinning backwards into the barriers and inflicting heavy damage on his car. Once marshals cleared the track, the qualifying simulations reached their peak. Leclerc initially reclaimed top spot with a 1m 18.877s, but Hamilton lowered the standard even further, firing in a 1m 18.729s to seal the fastest time of Friday. Verstappen finished fourth despite clipping debris dropped from Alonso’s car, while Russell, Hadjar, and Liam Lawson completed the top seven.

Free Practice 3: Norris Puts McLaren on Top Ahead of Qualifying

Saturday morning’s final practice session saw McLaren’s Lando Norris assert his authority ahead of Qualifying, clocking a weekend-best lap of 1m 17.939s to edge out Hamilton and Antonelli. Having missed valuable track time on Friday, both Colapinto and Stroll returned to action early in the hour. However, Racing Bulls suffered an early setback with Arvid Lindblad stranded in the garage with a power unit issue, following overnight curfew breaks by the mechanics to fix a similar issue on Lawson’s car.

The session was interrupted roughly 20 minutes in when Sergio Perez suffered a dramatic rear brake fire exiting the pit lane, bringing his Cadillac to a dead stop near Turn 2 and triggering the second red flag of the day.

With 30 minutes remaining after the restart, the frontrunners embarked on crucial soft-tyre runs. Hamilton briefly hit the top spot with a 1m 18.056s for Ferrari before Norris pieced together a clean, slide-free lap through the final sector to become the only driver to break into the 1m 17s barrier. Antonelli recovered from an earlier floor strike on the Turn 4 kerb to take third, just ahead of Leclerc and Piastri. Russell ended up sixth, six-tenths off the pace, while Verstappen and Hadjar trailed in seventh and eighth for Red Bull, with the young Frenchman reporting his car felt nearly undriveable on his final run.