Lewis Hamilton topped Friday practice for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix, leading teammate Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari one-two that immediately reignited hopes of another strong weekend for the Scuderia. But while the timesheets painted one picture, a chaotic second practice session full of traffic, track limits, crashes, and incomplete laps left plenty of uncertainty heading into qualifying.
Hamilton’s benchmark lap of 1:18.729 was enough to edge Leclerc, with Lando Norris completing the top three. Max Verstappen finished fourth ahead of George Russell, while Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, Oscar Piastri, Nico Hülkenberg and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten. For Ferrari supporters, it was exactly the kind of Friday they’ve been waiting for. Hamilton topped Sector 1 and Sector 3, Leclerc slotted comfortably into second, and the pair locked out the front in both practice sessions. Hamilton’s own reaction suggested there was still more to come.
After one of his quickest laps, he excitedly radioed, “That was such a good lap!” His engineer responded that he’d actually lost around half a second in the final sector compared to the optimal lap, despite already sitting near the top of the order. Hamilton believed he could still improve—and he eventually did.
The result inevitably brought back a familiar conversation.
Ferrari has often looked quickest on Fridays before fading on Saturday, leaving fans cautiously optimistic rather than fully convinced. This time, however, there were genuine reasons to believe the pace wasn’t simply another Friday illusion.
Mercedes’ true pace remains one of the biggest mysteries
If Ferrari looked impressive, Mercedes remained nearly impossible to judge.
Russell finished fifth, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli ended the session down in 13th after never completing a representative soft-tire qualifying simulation due to the late red flag caused by Franco Colapinto’s crash. Mercedes itself acknowledged the messy afternoon.
“An intriguing Friday with neither of our drivers getting a clean lap in. Work to do overnight.”
That uncertainty has fueled the growing theory that Mercedes may have more pace than Friday suggested. Russell’s long-run average on medium tires was among the strongest of the session, while Antonelli’s race simulations also caught attention despite being completed on softs. Several observers noted that once traffic was removed from comparable laps, Mercedes looked considerably closer to Ferrari than the headline times implied. Of course, that has only encouraged Formula 1’s favorite running joke. Ferrari dominates Friday. Mercedes somehow takes pole anyway.
Whether that prophecy repeats itself remains to be seen, but Mercedes certainly didn’t gather enough clean data to rule itself out.
Traffic made nearly every long-run comparison questionable
Normally, Friday race simulations offer one of the clearest indications of Sunday pace.
Hungary made sure that wasn’t the case. The official long-run averages showed Hamilton and Leclerc producing nearly identical pace, Verstappen remaining competitive, and Russell looking particularly encouraging. But almost every meaningful stint became compromised by heavy traffic. Drivers repeatedly encountered slower cars throughout their runs, making raw averages difficult to interpret.
One lap could be ruined by catching backmarkers, while another might involve lifting through multiple corners before finding clean air again. That makes comparisons between teams far less reliable than the final averages suggest.
Instead of revealing a clear race favorite, Friday’s long runs largely reinforced one conclusion: virtually every leading team still has unanswered questions.
Verstappen fighting both the car—and his seating position
Max Verstappen finished fourth despite spending much of the session complaining over team radio.
“I’m just not sitting the same in the car.”
“It’s so terrible.”
“It’s my back, I am laying down more.”
The comments suggested something more fundamental than normal setup frustrations. Given how frequently seats are removed and reinstalled during race weekends, the complaints sparked speculation that Verstappen simply wasn’t seated correctly after changes earlier in the day. Considering how sensitive modern Formula 1 drivers are to seating position and pedal feel, even a subtle change can dramatically affect confidence. Those complaints came alongside Red Bull admitting afterward that there would be “no miracles” following a Friday filled with driver concerns from both Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
Still, few in the paddock seem willing to write Verstappen off. His reputation for spending practice sessions complaining before extracting a front-row lap in qualifying has become legendary.
Friday certainly didn’t convince many that he won’t be right back in the fight on Saturday.
Colapinto crash brings out the red flag
The only interruption to the session came when Franco Colapinto spun into the barriers at the final corner, bringing out the red flag.
Fortunately, the Alpine driver climbed out unharmed. The incident also reignited discussion surrounding Alpine’s rear-end stability. Paul Aron experienced a remarkably similar loss of control during FP1, leading many to wonder whether the issue extends beyond simple driver error. At the same time, others pointed out that the final corner appeared especially dusty throughout the session, with multiple drivers struggling to keep their cars underneath them in the same area.
Regardless of the exact cause, Colapinto’s crash denied several drivers—most notably Antonelli—the chance to complete meaningful qualifying simulations.
Aston Martin’s pace improves despite difficult Friday
Aston Martin’s final classification hardly reflected the amount of work taking place inside the garage.
Fernando Alonso finished only 19th after deleted and interrupted laps, while Lance Stroll never managed to participate in FP2 after damage sustained earlier in the day couldn’t be repaired in time. Yet there were encouraging signs underneath the results. The team’s extensive use of flow-vis paint throughout practice reinforced the idea that Aston is effectively validating a major new aerodynamic package much like a preseason test.
Observers estimated the updated package has already found roughly two seconds compared to Aston’s previous specification. The problem? The rest of the field has moved forward too. That leaves Aston still over two seconds away from the outright pace, with many believing the Honda power unit has now become the car’s primary limitation rather than its chassis.
Hungary’s slower layout may nevertheless offer one of Aston’s better opportunities, with Alonso’s interrupted Friday potentially understating the true pace of the package.
Ferrari’s strengths appeared in the final sector
Sector analysis also revealed an interesting pattern.
Hamilton recorded the fastest first and third sectors, while Norris topped Sector 2. Much of Ferrari’s advantage appeared to come through the technical final sector, where mechanical grip becomes especially valuable as tires begin to overheat on one of the circuit’s dustiest sections. That observation aligned with what many saw visually throughout practice: Ferrari looked exceptionally planted through the slower corners.
Whether that advantage survives overnight setup changes remains one of qualifying’s biggest storylines.
Hungary continues to punish track limits
Drivers also found themselves battling the circuit boundaries all afternoon.
FP2 produced 40 recorded track-limit infringements, far exceeding recent Friday sessions at Spa, Austria, or Barcelona. Even accounting for Turn 14 violations effectively being counted twice—once for the corner itself and again on the following lap—the total remained dramatically higher than recent race weekends. Oscar Piastri accumulated several infringements, Hadjar repeatedly found himself crossing the white lines, while multiple other drivers—including Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Alonso and Antonelli—were also caught out.
Hungary’s narrow layout and evolving grip levels clearly left drivers pushing every available inch of asphalt.
Williams facing growing scrutiny
Away from the front of the field, Williams also became a talking point for less encouraging reasons.
After another session spent outside the fight for the top positions, questions continue to grow over the team’s development direction. Reports suggest Williams plans to introduce a major “B-spec” package around Baku rather than continuing with incremental updates. If true, the approach mirrors Aston Martin’s philosophy of bringing one comprehensive upgrade instead of several smaller ones.
Whether that late-season reset can reverse Williams’ trajectory remains to be seen, particularly with Cadillac already showing signs of closing the gap during its debut campaign.
Everything still feels wide open
For all Ferrari’s encouraging pace, Friday answered surprisingly few questions.
Hamilton and Leclerc looked genuinely quick. Mercedes never completed a clean picture of its true performance. McLaren continued to show speed through the middle sector.
Verstappen remained close despite sounding deeply unhappy in the cockpit. Traffic compromised nearly every race simulation, while Colapinto’s red flag prevented several teams from finishing their programs altogether. The only clear takeaway is that qualifying promises to be considerably closer than Friday’s headline times suggest. Ferrari may finally have the fastest car.
Or Formula 1 may simply be setting the stage for another Saturday where Mercedes, Verstappen, or McLaren rewrites the script once again.