Lewis Hamilton was fastest in FP2, Charles Leclerc in FP1 at the Hungaroring. Red Bull and McLaren lag about half a second behind, with Red Bull openly admitting they have a lot of work to do.
Ferrari dominated the first day of free practice for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in Budapest, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc trading fastest times across both Friday sessions. Hamilton ended FP2 as the fastest, while Leclerc was second just 0.148 seconds behind, and the same Leclerc was fastest in the morning FP1. The rest of the grid lagged around half a second back, surprising even the teams themselves.
According to Live F1 reports, Ferrari did not necessarily expect such a large advantage, even considering that the Hungaroring's tight and twisty characteristics suit their car. Leclerc also had a technical issue in FP1, reporting that "something broke" on the car, forcing him to end the session in the garage, but the fault was resolved in time for the afternoon practice. Ferrari's closest rivals on Friday were Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris, both around half a second behind.
Despite a convincing lead, Leclerc remained cautious in his assessment. "It was a relatively good day. I felt good with the car from the start, and the performance was immediately good, which is a positive," said the Monegasque. However, he added that he does not expect the gap to remain as large: "I don't expect we'll have the same difference we had today, so we'll have to do everything perfectly. If the feeling is there, I'm sure we'll do a good job in Q3."
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur commented on the chaotic FP2 session, which featured traffic jams and a red flag: "It's good for now, but it's not on Friday that you win pole, and even less the race. It's good to start the weekend like this, but we'll see tomorrow. It will be a different story." Vasseur stressed that Saturday morning's practice will give a clearer picture of the true pecking order as cars will be more spread out on track.
On the other side, Red Bull had a tough Friday. Young Frenchman Isack Hadjar, aged 21, posted the fourth fastest lap in FP1, 0.922 seconds behind Leclerc, but dropped to sixth in FP2. "A very demanding FP2. I thought FP1 was hard enough, but it got worse in FP2 due to the wind. It's hard to get a clear picture with the changes we made. As soon as I get in the car, it's okay. It's just that the Ferraris are always stronger. We need to find a lot of time per lap tonight," said Hadjar. He added that Red Bull is waiting for Mercedes to "wake up", while it will be tight with McLaren.
Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache was open in his assessment: "We are not where we should be or where we want to be. Our drivers are not happy with the car balance. It's clear that grip on this track is very low on Friday. The bumps on the track also disturb the car's balance." Wache stressed, however, that Ferrari is expectedly quick over one lap, and that long runs will show the true picture of competitiveness. Hadjar in the previous race in Belgium made an impressive recovery, starting from 21st due to a penalty and finishing 6th, while Verstappen was on the podium in the same race.
Special attention was also focused on Aston Martin, which brought an expected B-spec upgrade package for the weekend, but details of their practice results are not available from sources. Mercedes also remained in the shadows, and Hadjar openly said Red Bull is waiting for Mercedes cars to show their true face. Saturday's free practice FP3 and qualifying will show whether rival teams have found answers to Ferrari's first-day dominance, or whether the red cars will head for pole position as favorites.
