Lewis Hamilton edged past his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc to claim the fastest lap in the second practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, underscoring Ferrari's strong showing on the opening day of the weekend. After Leclerc had comfortably led the first practice session, outpacing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Hamilton himself, the seven‑time world champion made a remarkable improvement later in the day, shaving half a second off his earlier time and ending the session 0.158 seconds ahead of the Italian driver. The closest challenger to the Ferraris in the more representative FP2 was the reigning champion Lando Norris, who drove an upgraded McLaren and finished just under half a second behind Hamilton.
Norris’s performance highlighted that, while Ferrari appeared to have the upper hand, the competition was still within striking distance. Hamilton commented on the day’s conditions, saying, “It was a solid day overall. The wind made the track a little tricky and there were some bumpy sections, but the car felt better in FP2.
We made good progress between the sessions, although there are still a few areas we need to improve. We’ll go through all the data overnight, keep working on the balance and hopefully find a bit more performance for tomorrow.” Ferrari’s pace at the Hungaroring – a circuit many analysts had predicted would suit the team’s aerodynamic philosophy – was not a surprise, but the Italian outfit received an extra boost from the unexpected difficulties faced by championship leader Kimi Antonelli and his Mercedes team. Antonelli, who missed the first session while Mercedes completed a mandatory rookie‑driver run, struggled on his return, repeatedly running off the track due to rear‑wheel lock‑up.
The 19‑year‑old, who currently leads Hamilton by 45 points in the drivers’ standings, managed only a 13th‑place lap that was nearly two seconds slower than the fastest time. His teammate, George Russell, was also off the pace, posting a lap almost a full second slower than the leader and ending the session in fifth place despite using fresh soft tyres.
Max Verstappen, who had been dominant throughout the season, was a further seven‑tenths of a second off Hamilton’s best time, finishing fourth. His Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar trailed just behind Russell in sixth. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who also sat out the first practice, produced a disappointing eighth‑place effort, outpaced by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson. Piastri’s gap to Norris may be explained by the fact that the Australian was still running an older specification of the car and had not yet received the full upgrade package.
While Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull still have time to extract additional performance before the final practice session scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Ferrari has already positioned itself as the clear favourite for one of the season’s most crucial qualifying rounds, which will take place at 3:00 p.m.
and be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. The second practice session was briefly halted by a red flag that lasted almost ten minutes after Franco Colapinto suffered a heavy crash at the entry to the final corner, sending his Alpine into the barriers.
The incident underscored the thin margin for error on the narrow, twisty Hungaroring circuit. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was absent from the session after a suspension failure in the first practice, compounding the team’s difficult season. Their planned 16‑part upgrade package, which was meant to revive their performance, was largely eclipsed by the mechanical failure. Fernando Alonso, driving for the struggling Alpine, showed some signs of progress in the second practice despite finishing behind the two 2026 newcomers from Cadillac, who occupied 19th place and were almost three seconds off the pace.
Alonso’s fastest lap was later deleted for exceeding track limits, but the Spaniard noted after the session that the car felt “much better” and appeared to be meeting the team’s expectations. The schedule for the remainder of the weekend includes a variety of support series: an F3 sprint at 9:00 a.m., the final practice session at 11:30 a.m., an F2 sprint at 1:10 p.m., and the qualifying session at 3:00 p.m.
on Saturday. Sunday’s program features the F3 feature race, the Porsche Supercup, the F2 feature race, and the Hungarian Grand Prix itself, which is set to start at 2:00 p.m. All sessions will be streamed live on Sky Sports F1, with the option to watch via NOW without a contract and with the ability to cancel at any time. Overall, the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend is shaping up to be a pivotal chapter in the 2026 Formula 1 campaign.
Ferrari’s early dominance, Hamilton’s rapid adaptation, and the struggles of Mercedes’s rookie driver create a narrative that could influence the championship battle for the remainder of the season. Fans can look forward to a highly competitive qualifying session and a race that promises to test the limits of both driver skill and engineering excellence on the demanding Budapest circuit.