George Russell acknowledged that the worries Mercedes had been harbouring about Ferrari's likely rapid pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix were justified after a Friday practice session that was clearly dominated by their title‑contending rivals. Mercedes have been leading the championship narrative, having secured eight victories out of the ten races contested so far, yet the unique characteristics of the Hungaroring – a tight, twisty circuit that rewards cornering ability – had sparked speculation before the event that Ferrari, the winners of the other two Grands Prix this season and a team whose car excels in the medium‑speed sections, could emerge as the benchmark for the weekend. Those pre‑race predictions proved to be spot on on Friday.
Ferrari comfortably topped both practice sessions, even achieving a one‑two finish in the more representative second hour of running, with Lewis Hamilton surprisingly taking the fastest time ahead of Charles Leclerc. By contrast, Mercedes struggled to find rhythm, ending the second practice session only fifth and thirteenth fastest respectively, a full 0.9 seconds adrift of the front‑runners – an unusually large margin that highlighted balance issues and a lack of single‑lap speed.
Lando Norris, who piloted a heavily upgraded McLaren, managed to claim third place, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fourth. "It was quite a strange day out there, I think, for everybody," said Russell, who recorded the fifth‑fastest time. "Budapest is an amazing track to drive, but they've resurfaced half the track – it’s super bumpy and a lot of it is breaking up around the last couple of corners, which makes it quite odd to drive on." He went on to explain the team's performance dilemma: "Our single‑lap pace didn't look great. The long run looked more competitive, but what we, I guess, potentially feared with Ferrari seemed to be the case.
They look very, very strong." Russell added that the team would need to address several issues, noting that the wind was shifting and could continue to affect handling throughout the weekend. Ferrari’s lead driver, Charles Leclerc, set a massive 0.4‑second gap to the next car in the opening session and then posted a 0.148‑second deficit to Hamilton in the second practice. Leclerc praised the car’s performance, saying, "It was a relatively strong day.
From the beginning I felt quite good with the car and performance seemed to be good straight away. So that's a good thing but the weekend is still long and from Friday to Saturday we see teams making a jump of performance. 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 in order to get better.
It's going to be tight in qualifying as always. I don't expect us to have the gap that we had today, so we'll have to do everything perfect. But if the feeling is there I'm sure we'll do a good job in Q3." Lewis Hamilton, speaking after the session, echoed the sentiment that conditions were challenging. "It was a solid day overall.
The conditions were quite challenging, with the wind making things a bit tricky and the track feeling quite bumpy in some places. The car felt better in FP2 and we made some 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," he said.
Team principal Frederic Vasseur, while pleased with the early showing, cautioned against complacency. "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 [third‑fastest] Norris didn't finish the lap… we will see tomorrow." Other drivers also took note of Ferrari’s speed.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who was sixth quickest, remarked, "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, eighth fastest in the lone 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 broader context of the weekend includes a packed schedule of support series and qualifying sessions, with F3 and F2 sprints, the Hungarian GP practice three, qualifying, and the race itself all broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. The race is set to start at 2 pm on Sunday, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW without a long‑term contract.
In summary, Russell’s comments underline a growing sense of urgency within Mercedes. While the team has enjoyed a dominant start to the season, the Hungarian Grand Prix has highlighted a potential shift in the competitive balance, with Ferrari’s corner‑carving strengths and recent race wins suggesting they may be the team to beat.
Mercedes will need to address their single‑lap deficit, manage the evolving wind conditions, and extract more performance from a car that currently feels "far from great," according to Russell. The upcoming qualifying and race will be a crucial test of whether Mercedes can close the gap or if Ferrari will continue to capitalize on their recent momentum.