George Russell acknowledged that the worries Mercedes had harbored about Ferrari’s potential pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix were confirmed during Friday’s practice sessions, which were dominated by the Italian team, the reigning world championship contenders. Mercedes have been the benchmark in the championship so far, amassing eight victories out of the ten races completed.
However, the unique characteristics of the Hungaroring – a tight, twisty circuit that rewards cornering ability – sparked speculation before the event that Ferrari, fresh off wins in the other two Grand Prix of the season and possessing a car that excels in high‑speed turns, could be the team to beat this weekend. Those pre‑race predictions proved to be more than just speculation. Ferrari not only topped the timing sheets in both Friday practice sessions but also delivered a convincing one‑two finish in the second hour, the session that many consider the most representative of race‑weekend performance. In that session, Lewis Hamilton, driving for Mercedes, managed to claim second place while Ferrari’s own Charles Leclerc secured the top spot, underscoring the Italian squad’s dominance on the day.
By contrast, Mercedes struggled to keep pace. In the second practice period they were only fifth fastest, and in the first they fell to 13th, a full 0.9 seconds off the pace of the leading Ferrari.
The gap was unusually large for a team that has traditionally been a benchmark for single‑lap speed, and it highlighted balance issues that the Mercedes chassis was experiencing. Lando Norris, who drove a heavily upgraded McLaren, managed to climb onto the third‑fastest slot, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fourth.
Russell, who posted the fifth‑quickest time, described the day as “quite a strange one for everybody.” He noted that the Budapest circuit had been resurfaced on roughly half of its length, creating a bumpy surface that was beginning to break up around the final corners. This, he said, made the track feel “quite odd to drive on.” “The single‑lap pace didn’t look great,” Russell continued.
“The long‑run pace looked more competitive, but what we feared about Ferrari seems to be the case. They look very, very strong.” Mercedes’ other driver, George Antonelli, missed the first practice session while the team complied with a rookie‑driver running rule that required Frederik Vesti to take part. When Antonelli finally hit the track, his soft‑tyre runs were compromised by a red‑flag caused by Franco Colapinto’s crash, and he later made a significant lock‑up at Turn Two, leaving him 13th overall. Russell added that the team still has 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 be changing a lot.” Although Ferrari have benefited from a degree of luck this season, both of their victories have come in the last four races, and the Hungarian Grand Prix marked only the second occasion this year that they have been the outright fastest on a conventional Friday. Leclerc, who led the first practice session by a sizable 0.4 seconds, was 0.148 seconds behind Hamilton in the second session.
He described the day as “relatively strong” and said he felt good about the car from the outset. “The performance seemed good straight away, which is a positive sign, but the weekend is still long and teams usually make a jump between Friday and Saturday,” he explained. Leclerc admitted that Ferrari often start the weekend on the back foot on Fridays, making their strong showing in Budapest especially encouraging. However, he cautioned that qualifying would still be tight: “We don’t expect to keep the same gap we had today, so we’ll have to be perfect in Q3.
If the feeling is there, I’m confident we’ll do a good job.” Hamilton, speaking after the session, echoed a similar sentiment: “It was a solid day overall. The conditions were challenging, with the wind making things a bit tricky and the track feeling 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.” Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur kept his optimism in check, reminding everyone that a strong Friday does not guarantee pole position or race victory: “So far, so good, but it’s not on Friday we are doing the pole, even less that you win the race. 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.” The speed of the Ferraris caught the attention of other competitors as well.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who was sixth fastest, said: “I knew they were going to be quick on a track like that. At the moment we are waiting for Mercedes to wake up.
Like always I think it’s going to be very close with the McLarens. That’s where we are at the moment.” Oscar Piastri, who was eighth quickest in a McLaren that did not carry its major 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 with supporting series and sessions. On Saturday, July 25, the day begins with an F3 sprint at 9:00 am, followed by the Hungarian GP Practice Three at 11:15 am (the session itself starts at 11:30 am). After a brief intermission, the F2 sprint runs at 1:10 pm, then the Hungarian GP qualifying build‑up at 2:15 pm, and the official qualifying session at 3:00 pm.
The day concludes with Ted’s Qualifying Notebook at 5:00 pm. Sunday, July 26, features the F3 feature race at 7:35 am, the Porsche Supercup at 9:05 am, the F2 feature race at 10:20 am, and the main Grand Prix build‑up at 12:30 pm. The Hungarian Grand Prix itself starts at 2:00 pm, followed by the post‑race reaction at 4:00 pm and Ted’s Notebook at 5:00 pm.
All sessions are broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with the race available for streaming via NOW without a long‑term contract. The Hungarian Grand Prix promises to be a crucial test for Mercedes as they seek to close the gap to Ferrari, while the Italian team will aim to convert their strong practice performance into a race win. The evolving weather, wind direction, and track surface conditions will add further variables that could influence the outcome, making the Budapest weekend one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.