Ferrari leads Hungarian GP practice as Mercedes title bid stalls
Ferrari’s engineering dominance at the Hungaroring has exposed a sudden pace deficit at Mercedes, putting championship leader Kimi Antonelli’s 45-point advantage at risk ahead of a crucial qualifying session.
Lewis Hamilton edged Charles Leclerc to top the timesheets in second practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix, completing a Friday sweep for Ferrari. After Leclerc led the opening session ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Hamilton found significant pace to overturn a half-second deficit and finish 0.158 seconds clear of his team-mate.
The true significance of Friday's running, however, lies in the unexpected struggles of Mercedes. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli missed the first session to fulfil a rookie driver obligation, but his return in the afternoon was marked by repeated off-track excursions and rear locking issues. The 19-year-old Italian finished 13th, almost two seconds off the pace, a striking vulnerability for a driver holding a 45-point lead over Hamilton.
Mercedes' problems were not isolated to the rookie. George Russell could only manage fifth, almost a full second behind the Ferraris despite running on fresh soft tyres. Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull, seven tenths off the pace, suggesting Ferrari have a genuine margin over the entire field at a circuit that was widely expected to suit their car.
Elsewhere, the day highlighted the brutal cost of getting upgrades wrong in Formula One's highly competitive engineering landscape. Aston Martin arrived with a heavily touted 16-part upgrade package, but the rollout was derailed when Lance Stroll's suspension failed in the first session. Fernando Alonso could only manage 19th in the second session, nearly three seconds off the pace and outperformed by the 2026 newcomer Cadillac team.
McLaren's upgrade programme yielded mixed results. Lando Norris was the closest challenger to Ferrari in the second session, just short of half a second back, but team-mate Oscar Piastri was down in eighth. Piastri's deficit may be explained by his car lacking the same full upgrade package as Norris. The session was briefly halted when Franco Colapinto crashed his Alpine heavily at the final corner.
Ferrari have established themselves as clear favourites for Saturday's qualifying session at the Hungaroring. Their rivals have until final practice on Saturday morning to find the necessary pace to prevent the Italian team from locking out the front row.
