McLaren driver Lando Norris has led a three-team fight to top final practice at Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix, setting up an intriguing qualifying session in Budapest.
Norris’ late 1m18.939s flyer was just over a tenth quicker than Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli on the twisty Hungaroring.
FP3’s opening phase was quiet as drivers kept their powder dry for qualifying runs towards the end of the session, when the track would be in its most representative condition for qualifying.
After 16 minutes McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was the first driver to dip below the 1m20s barrier on softs before team-mate Norris clocked a 1m19.062s to set the early target, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar splitting the two McLarens.
Sergio Perez caused a red flag after 20 minutes when he ground to a halt with a smoking rear end of his Cadillac, which appeared to originate from the brakes, a recurring weakness for F1’s newest competitor.
On the restart halfway through the one-hour session, Ferrari and Mercedes both set chase for Norris’ benchmark. George Russell came closest but still shipped two tenths, while Leclerc was another tenth in arrears. Hamilton did find enough time in sectors one and three to pip Norris by a mere 0.009s as the four top teams were all covered by three tenths ahead of the final set of qualifying simulations.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Liam Fabre
Leclerc had a much cleaner lap on his second attempt and clocked a 1m18.668s, with Antonelli moving up to second. The Italian asked his team to check for potential floor damage after a wild ride over the Turn 4 kerbs. But while the team said it “saw something on the aero” data, it didn’t prevent Antonelli from going quicker still with a 1m18.254s effort.
Norris swiftly responded with a 1m18.206s lap, half a tenth up, briefly being bested by Hamilton before Norris reclaimed the lead with a 1m17.939s tour. But with Hamilton and Antonelli just one tenth in arrears, qualifying at the Hungaroring is shaping up to be a closely contested affair.
Leclerc was fourth after going wide in Turn 1 on his last attempt, followed by Piastri, who saw his lap ruined by cutting the Turn 6 chicane. Russell was six tenths behind in sixth, trailed by Red Bull duo Verstappen and Hadjar, neither of which sounded particularly impressed by the RB22’s handling on the Mogyorod circuit’s many bumps.
Nico Hulkenberg led Audi team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto as the German veteran rounded out the top 10, the German manufacturer appearing to gain the upper hand this weekend in F1 2026’s tight midfield battle.
Alongside Perez, Arvid Lindblad was the other driver hit with mechanical trouble. The British Racing Bulls rookie missed most of the session due to a power unit change, but left the garage right at the end to take 13th.
F1 Hungarian GP – FP3 Results
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– The Autosport.com Team
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