Lewis Hamilton topped the last Free Practice of the day at the Hungaroring, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. The first day of the Hungarian Grand Prix finished with Ferrari showcasing incredible pace around the circuit.
Early struggles in Free Practice 2
Ferrari opened Free Practice 2 with the first representative times, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of his teammate, Charles Leclerc. Leclerc was the fastest overall during Free Practice 1 earlier. Max Verstappen opened his session with a timed lap that saw him move up to third.
Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri, who missed Free Practice 1, had to abort his first fast lap after going wide in Turn 11. However, in his first lap, Piastri climbed to sixth behind his teammate, Lando Norris.
On the other hand, both Mercedes drivers complained about several issues and struggled to close the gap to the Ferrari and Verstappen in front. At this point in Free Practice 2, drivers started to struggle for grip as the track evolved.
Red-flagged second half
After pitting, drivers went out to start the second half of Free Practice 2. Lando Norris was the first to set the first representative time and went fastest. As Kimi Antonelli was doing his fast lap, a red flag was deployed as Franco Colapinto hit the barriers.
The session resumed, and drivers immediately headed out. Charles Leclerc set a new benchmark and became fastest on track once again, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. During this second half, some drivers were running on high-fuel for long runs while other where on low-fuel still.
With 14 minutes remaining, Lewis Hamilton went fastest. Meanwhile, drivers started to struggle more with the grip and the wind, with several of them going off track. Kimi Antonelli struggled to meet the top 5 pace and found himself down in 13th position.
With five minutes remaining, drivers switched to long runs. As it stands, Lewis Hamilton went fastest overall, ahead of his teammate Leclerc by just a tenth, and Lando Norris almost half a second behind. Meanwhile, Antonelli couldn’t find quite the pace during Free Practice 2.
