George Russell acknowledged that the apprehensions Mercedes had regarding Ferrari’s likely rapid pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix were validated during Friday’s practice sessions, which were clearly dominated by their title‑contending rivals. Mercedes have been the benchmark in the championship so far, amassing eight victories out of ten races, yet the twisty, narrow character of the Hungaroring had sparked speculation that Ferrari – the victors of the other two Grands Prix this year and a team whose car excels in handling and cornering – might be the team to challenge the front‑runners this weekend. Those pre‑race predictions were borne out on Friday when the Italian outfit comfortably topped both free‑practice sessions. In the more representative second hour of running, a one‑two finish for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ own Lewis Hamilton highlighted the gap between the two teams.
By contrast, the silver‑arrowed Mercedes struggled. The team could only manage fifth and thirteenth fastest in the two sessions, a startling 0.9‑second deficit to their chief competitors, indicating serious balance issues and a lack of single‑lap speed.
Lando Norris, piloting a heavily upgraded McLaren, occupied third, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fourth. "It was a pretty odd day for everybody," said Russell, who posted the fifth‑fastest time.
"Budapest is a fantastic circuit to drive, but they resurfaced roughly half of it. The surface is extremely bumpy and a lot of it is breaking up around the final corners, which makes the car behave strangely." He added that the team's one‑lap performance "didn't look great" and that while the longer runs seemed a little more promising, the scenario they had feared – Ferrari being a step ahead – was indeed playing out.
"They look very, very strong," Russell concluded. Ferrari’s championship leader, George Alonso, missed the first practice session as the team complied with a rookie‑driver mileage rule, allowing Frederik Vesti to take part.
When Alonso finally hit the track, he only managed thirteenth, his soft‑tyre stint hampered by an untimely red flag caused by Franco Colapinto’s crash and a series of driver errors, including a heavy lock‑up at Turn Two. Russell admitted that the team had a lot of work ahead: "Ferrari are a good step ahead of everyone right now.
I think for both Kimi and me the car was far from great, to be honest, and we think there is room to improve. It was really windy today and I think the wind direction is going to be shifting, so that could change a lot." Even though luck has played a part, Ferrari’s two victories this season have both come in the last four races, and Hungary marked only the second time all season that they had been the outright fastest on a conventional Friday. Leclerc had led the opening session by a sizeable 0.4 seconds and then finished a close 0.148 seconds behind Hamilton in the second practice.
He described the day as "relatively strong" and said he felt "quite good with the car" from the outset, noting that performance seemed solid straight away. "The weekend is still long and from Friday to Saturday we see teams making a jump in performance," he said. "Normally we are on the back foot on Friday, so it’s a good thing we have a good Friday, but we still need to stay on it and work hard to get better. It’s going to be tight in qualifying as always.
I don’t expect us to have the gap we had today, so we’ll have to be perfect in Q3. If the feeling is there I’m sure we’ll do a good job." Hamilton, speaking after the sessions, called the day "solid overall" but highlighted the challenging conditions: "The wind made things a bit tricky and the track felt quite bumpy in places.
The car felt better in FP2 and 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." Team principal Frédéric Vasseur remained cautious despite the impressive Friday showing. "So far, so good, but it’s not on Friday we are doing the pole, even less that you win the race," he warned. "It’s good to start the weekend like this but let’s see tomorrow – it will be another story.
I think Norris didn’t finish the lap… we will see tomorrow." Ferrari’s speed also attracted comments from rivals. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who was the sixth‑fastest, said: "I knew they would be quick on a track like that. At the moment we are waiting for Mercedes to wake up. As always I think it’s going to be very close with the McLarens.
That’s where we are at the moment." Oscar Piastri, the eighth‑fastest in a McLaren that did not carry its significant upgrade on Friday, added: "The Ferraris have looked very quick in both sessions. But I think Lando looked competitive in that second one especially. The Mercedes is very hard to read. So let’s see tomorrow.
If we execute a good day then it looks like there could be a lot up for grabs." The weekend schedule is packed: on Saturday, July 25, the F3 Sprint starts at 9 a.m., followed by Hungarian GP Practice Three at 11.15 a.m., the F2 Sprint at 1.10 p.m., qualifying sessions later in the afternoon, and a qualifying notebook at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 26, features the F3 Feature Race, PorscheVoiture Supercup, F2 Feature Race, the Grand Prix itself at 2 p.m., and post‑race analysis.
All sessions are broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract. The Hungarian Grand Prix promises to be a decisive chapter in the 2024 championship, especially if Ferrari can maintain the momentum they displayed on Friday, while Mercedes must find a way to close the performance gap before the crucial qualifying and race sessions.