- Ferrari Top the Timesheets in Hangary as Hamilton Leads Ferrari One-Two at the Hungaroring
Lewis Hamilton continued Ferrari’s impressive start to the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in Friday’s second free practice session, leading teammate Charles Leclerc in a dominant one-two finish.
The seven-time world champion posted a best lap of 1:18.729, finishing 0.148 seconds ahead of Leclerc, while McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed third, almost half a second off the pace. The performance underlined Ferrari’s growing confidence as the team looks to challenge for victory at the Hungaroring
Ferrari looked competitive from the opening laps of the hour-long session. Leclerc initially set the benchmark on medium tyres before Hamilton quickly responded with an even faster lap.
Although Leclerc struggled with several lock-ups during the session, both Ferrari drivers extracted impressive pace once they switched to soft tyres. Leclerc briefly reclaimed top spot with a lap of 1:18.877, only for Hamilton to improve again and secure the fastest time of the day.
The Scuderia then turned their attention to race simulations, with Hamilton’s lap remaining unbeaten until the chequered flag.
Changing wind conditions created handling problems for several teams throughout the session.
Mercedes driver George Russell described his car as “dreadful” and complained it was badly out of balance, while teammate Kimi Antonelli admitted he nearly spun twice under braking.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also reported serious front-end issues, telling his engineers that the car “felt broken” through Turn 12.
The session was briefly halted after Alpine driver Franco Colapinto crashed heavily at the final corner.
Having missed the opening practice session, the Argentine lost control of his car on corner exit before spinning backwards into the barriers, causing significant damage and forcing race officials to display the red flag.
The incident interrupted qualifying simulations and left Alpine mechanics facing a lengthy overnight repair job.
Before the red flag, Lando Norris briefly topped the timesheets with a lap of 1:19.228 in McLaren’s upgraded car, highlighting the team’s competitiveness.
Defending world champion Max Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull despite damaging his car after striking debris from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, while Russell completed the top five.
Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, Oscar Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten.
Aston Martin endured a frustrating Friday after Lance Stroll was unable to take part in the session.
The Canadian missed FP2 completely as the team failed to repair suspension damage sustained during the opening practice session, leaving Fernando Alonso as the team’s only representative on track.
Alonso continued gathering valuable data on Aston Martin’s heavily upgraded package, but the team still faces work to unlock its full potential before qualifying.
Friday’s running suggests Ferrari has taken an early advantage at the Hungaroring, with Hamilton and Leclerc consistently demonstrating the strongest pace over both qualifying and race simulations.
