Norris tops Piastri in FP2 for another McLaren 1-2 at Hungaroring

Lando Norris closed out Friday’s Formula 1 practice sessions with the fastest time in FP2, finishing 0.291s ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Briton had led the times after the opening set of exploratory runs on medium tyres, setting a benchmark of 1m16.525s on the C4 tyre – a lap that chiselled Piastri off the top of the standings by over 0.15s.

After Norris had set that lap, the field made the customary mid-session switch to soft tyres, and Norris’ time then fell to Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll as the Canadian dug out 0.3s in hand over the McLaren driver with the C5s. 

Piastri then uncovered even more time in crossing the 1m16s barrier, setting a 1m15.915s, but Norris once again upstaged his championship-leading team-mate to clock a 1m15.624s to go fastest.

In attempting another lap on the softs, Piastri had a wide moment at the exit of Turn 7, effectively cementing the order up front. The two McLarens almost had a moment at Turn 1, where Norris locked up exiting the pits as Piastri steamed around the outside. 

The field then switched to race runs with all three grades of tyre represented, locking in the top two and, exactly like in FP1, the pair was joined by Charles Leclerc in third – 0.399s off Norris’ pace.

Stroll retained position towards the top of the order with fourth, joined by Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso in the top five; the Spaniard missed FP1 through back trouble, leading to Felipe Drugovich taking his slot.

Lewis Hamilton was sixth ahead of former team-mate George Russell; the two Mercedes were separated by both Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda, who found pace over Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen in 14th, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli completing the top 10.

Verstappen reported that his car was “undriveable” and he “can’t get any balance” – and also was placed under investigation for an incident where he threw a towel out of the car, which had been left in his cockpit.

Oliver Bearman, who has finished 11th in a grand prix four times in a row, was 11th. Having missed FP1, Nico Hulkenberg was 12th – Paul Aron replaced the German in FP1, but his session was cut short by a warning light on his dash.

F1 Hungarian GP results – FP2