Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in the second practice.
Second part of free practice
Cloudy. Dry. Air +24°C, track +33…30°C
The first practice session was restless, but the condition of the track noticeably improved after the support race sessions – and the drivers went out for the second practice.
The sky was overcast, and compared to the first session, the asphalt temperature dropped by ten degrees, while tomorrow and Sunday the forecast promises heat, so from the perspective of tire work, the session was not very informative.
After the first session, questions arose regarding the cause of Stroll's suspension failure on the new Aston Martin AMR26 "specification B." Between sessions, Adrian Newey said that this part of the suspension had not been updated and there was no cause for concern, but Lance ultimately did not go out on track – the necessary spare parts were not found. They will be delivered by plane overnight.
The drivers started the session on Hard and Medium, working in series of laps.
Piastri went off track at turn 11, Leclerc at turn 12, and Hadjar at the last one. The Mercedes drivers were dissatisfied – Russell complained about the balance, Antonelli about the brakes – the rear wheels were constantly locking up. At the end of the first half of the session, the Ferrari drivers were leading – Hamilton topped the timesheet with 1:19.585.
After switching to Soft, the speeds increased – the softest compound provided excellent grip.
With 33 minutes left in the session, red flags appeared – Franco Colapinto crashed his car, hitting the barrier with the rear after spinning out in the last corner.
The driver said he was fine, but the dangerous overload sensor was triggered, and he left the accident site in a medical car. After a short check, the medics released him.
The car was quickly evacuated, and four minutes later the drivers went out again.
Antonelli locked up his tires before the second corner, going off track, Norris cut the seventh corner – with no consequences for the cars.
On Soft, the Ferrari drivers were again faster – Hamilton set the best time, completing a lap in 1:18.729.
Second part of free practice
Driver
Team
Time
Difference
Laps
1. L.Hamilton
Ferrari
1:18.729
26
2. C.Leclerc
Ferrari
1:18.877
+0.148
30
3. L.Norris
McLaren
1:19.228
+0.499
30
4. M.Verstappen
Red Bull
1:19.421
+0.692
27
5. G.Russell
Mercedes
1:19.662
+0.933
30
6. A.Hadjar
Red Bull
1:19.800
+1.071
20
7. L.Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:20.041
+1.312
29
8. O.Piastri
McLaren
1:20.101
+1.372
28
9. N.Hülkenberg
Audi
1:20.125
+1.396
30
10. A.Lindblad
Racing Bulls
1:20.253
+1.524
29
11. G.Bortoleto
Audi
1:20.474
+1.745
27
12. E.Ocon
Haas
1:20.557
+1.828
26
13. K.Antonelli
Mercedes
1:20.693
+1.964
30
14. P.Gasly
Alpine
1:20.816
+2.087
24
15. O.Berman
Haas
1:20.950
+2.221
28
16. A.Albon
Williams
1:20.973
+2.244
33
17. C.Sainz
Williams
1:21.426
+2.697
31
18. V.Bottas
Cadillac
1:21.442
+2.713
31
19. F.Alonso
Aston Martin
1:21.719
+2.990
24
20. S.Perez
Cadillac
1:21.792
+3.063
28
21. F.Colapinto
Alpine
1:22.531
+3.802
11
22. L.Stroll
Aston Martin
First part of free practice
Sunny. Dry. Air +23...24°C, track +45°C
The rules require teams to give the first four practice sessions to young drivers, and in Hungary, there were five substitutions.
In Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli gave up the cockpit to Frederic Vesti, in Haas F1, Rio Hirakawa replaced Oliver Berman, in Alpine, Paul Aron took the wheel instead of Franco Colapinto, in McLaren – Leonardo Fornaroli instead of Oscar Piastri, in Cadillac, Colton Herta instead of Valtteri Bottas.
All attention was focused on the new Aston Martin AMR26 "specification B." For the Hungarian stage, Adrian Newey built almost an entirely new car, and after the summer break, the updated Honda engine will be ready. Newey personally came to the stage to observe the testing of his new creation.
The stands were filled already on Friday morning – Hungary loves Formula 1. It was not very hot, there was a light breeze, but the asphalt had already warmed up to almost 50°C at the beginning of the session.
The drivers immediately went out on track, assessing the base settings, and returned to the pits to adjust them. The asphalt was traditionally dirty, and the cars were sliding. Hamilton was nearly spun out in the last corner, but he caught the car.
Sainz had radio communication issues, and the team could not warn him about Verstappen's approaching car – and they interfered with each other. Max expressed his dissatisfaction by braking in front of his car. The stewards reviewed this incident after the session and issued Carlos a warning.
Albon went off in the first corner, locking up his tires under braking. Norris went over the curb in the eighth corner.
In the second half of the session, many switched to Soft, and the speeds increased. Only Aston Martin stayed on Hard, but for them, the main thing now is to gather information.
However, not all information could be gathered – with 23 minutes left, the session was stopped with red flags. At the exit of the second corner, Stroll's car suffered a suspension arm failure on the rear left wheel, causing it to spin – Lance managed to keep the new car from hitting the wall, stopping in the safety zone of the third corner.
Aston Martin was quickly evacuated, and a few minutes later the session continued.
With ten minutes left in the session, Sainz locked up his tires under braking in the first corner and stopped in the safety zone, but after the pause, he continued moving.
Another minute later, Leclerc reported gearbox issues to his engineer, turned onto the pit lane, but could not make it to the pits – he left the cockpit, and the mechanics pushed the car.
No one could improve Leclerc's time before he retired; the Monegasque topped the timesheet with 1:19.075. The best among the "young" was Frederic Vesti in the Mercedes, who set the seventh-fastest time.
First part of free practice
Driver
Team
Time
Difference
Laps
1. C.Leclerc
Ferrari
1:19.075
-
19
2. M.Verstappen
Red Bull
1:19.559
+0.484
25
3. L.Hamilton
Ferrari
1:19.618
+0.543
23
4. A.Hadjar
Red Bull
1:19.997
+0.922
25
5. G.Russell
Mercedes
1:20.066
+0.991
21
6. G.Bortoleto
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