McLaren were one of the few constants amidst an eventful free practice in Hungary. The reigning constructors' champions locked out the top two in each of the three sessions, with Lando Norris taking the top spot in FP1 and 2, before Oscar Piastri pipped his teammate by just three hundredths of a second in FP3.
That said, McLaren’s free practice was not without incident. Norris suffered a lockup and slide FP1 as well as a wayward moment at turn 14 in FP2. His teammate was baulked by traffic in FP2 before getting very close to Norris going into turn one. Upon exiting the pit lane, Norris found himself going wheel to wheel with Piastri into the first corner, a lockup from the Brit nearly spelled disaster, but luckily, contact was avoided.
In contrast to the leading duo, Charles Leclerc had a trouble-free run to third in all three sessions. A snap of oversteer out of the penultimate corner in FP3 was all he had to worry about. Lewis Hamilton struggled at the chicane in FP2 but did well to end the final session in fourth, substantiating the claim that Ferrari has the second fastest car this weekend. Between the red cars' initial pace and Hamilton’s imperious track record at this circuit (a record eight wins and nine pole positions), this weekend could be Hamilton’s best chance yet at a maiden podium for Ferrari.
Kimi Antonelli finished ahead of his teammate in two out of the three sessions and ended FP3 in fifth. The Italian is in desperate need of a good result, having scored points in just one of the last seven grand prix. George Russell was honest about Mercedes' dip in form coming into this weekend, but managed the eighth fastest time in FP3, just behind the two Aston Martins.
After sustaining a muscle injury at last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso was forced to sit out FP1. His place was taken by Aston Martin reserve and 2022 Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovic, who suffered a lockup at turn one en route to P16. Alonso returned for FP2 and ended the final session in sixth, with a time four hundredths quicker than Lance Stroll.
After running as high as sixth after the initial runs, Gabriel Bortoleto ended FP3 a strong ninth, one place ahead of his teammate, Nico Hulkenberg. Who surrendered his seat to Paul Aron, who was on loan from Alpine for FP1.
Oliver Bearmen ended free practice in 11th, a position with which he’s becoming increasingly familiar, having finished one place outside the points for the last four grand prix.
Max Verstappen shut down any possibility of a Mercedes switch on Thursday by confirming he will stay with Red Bull for at least another season. However, the reigning world champion had a torrid time in free practice, frequently complaining of balance issues, removing a towel that had been left in his cockpit in FP2, and ending the final session a lowly 12th, with his best time 1.246s off Piastri’s best. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda also struggled and ended FP3 in 19th, suggesting that this weekend will be an exercise in damage limitation for Red Bull.
After ending FP2 in last place, Franco Colapinto managed to secure 13th in FP3. The Argentine needs a solid result as, having failed to score points in his seven Grand Prix thus far, rumours of a second Alpine driver swap are rife.
Liam Lawson was lucky to escape FP1 intact after nearly coming together with a spinning Isack Hadjar. The RB driver was further hindered by Carlos Sainz in FP2, who suffered a temporary loss of both telemetry and radio communications. Even so, Lawson ended FP3 14th, one place ahead of Sainz.
Alex Albon ended up one place behind his teammate in 16th, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, and Isack Hadjar.
McLaren may be the clear favourites, but with just 16 points separating Piastri and Norris at the top of the standings, it's anyone's guess as to who will head into the summer break on a high.
