During a remarkably eventful first practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc demonstrated blistering speed before his run was abruptly cut short by a technical issue, while Aston Martin’s newly upgraded car suffered a suspected suspension failure that sent Lance Stroll careening off the track. Leclerc quickly established himself as the pace-setter, posting a best lap of 1:19.075 – a full half‑second quicker than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton.
This impressive time placed the Monegasque driver at the top of the early‑session leaderboard and gave Ferrari a strong signal heading into the rest of the weekend. However, the Ferrari driver’s momentum was halted after just seven minutes when he was forced to pull into the pit lane and report that "something broke" on his SF‑26.
The exact nature of the failure has not yet been confirmed by the team, but the incident forced Leclerc to abandon the remainder of his flying laps for the day. Aston Martin, meanwhile, introduced a comprehensive set of 16 aerodynamic upgrades to the AMR‑26, marking the team’s first major package of the season after a string of outings at the back of the grid. The upgrades were intended to close the performance gap that has routinely seen the British outfit trailing by three to four seconds in qualifying. Unfortunately for the team, the upgrades coincided with a dramatic rear‑suspension failure on Lance Stroll’s car.
After just 11 laps, the Canadian driver suffered a high‑speed spin exiting Turn Two, the car’s rear giving way and sending him off the racing line. Stroll managed to avoid the barriers, but the incident ended his session prematurely. Aston Martin will now need to inspect and repair the suspension, as well as analyse the failure to prevent a recurrence before the second practice session scheduled for 4 p.m.
In contrast, Stroll’s teammate Fernando Alonso completed a full stint without apparent trouble, completing 20 laps and finishing a respectable 13th overall – roughly 2.4 seconds off Leclerc’s leading time. While still a sizable gap, Alonso’s run suggested that the upgrades could be delivering incremental gains, even if they were not yet enough to challenge the front‑row pace. Other notable performances included George Russell, who recorded the fifth‑fastest time, sitting just under a second behind Leclerc.
Mercedes also fielded their young driver Fred Vesti, who was required to take a P1 outing to satisfy the FIA’s mandatory rookie participation rule that each team must fulfil on four Fridays per season. Vesti posted a solid seventh‑fastest time, only 0.4 seconds shy of Russell’s effort. Among the rookie cohort, several drivers made their mark: reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, driving Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, placed 16th; Ryo Hirakawa in Oliver Bearman’s Haas was 17th; Paul Aron, piloting Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, came 19th; and Colton Herta, in Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac, rounded out the top‑20 at 20th. Isack Hadjar impressed by securing fourth place in the second Red Bull, edging out both Russell and Audi’s promising Gabriel Bortoleto.
The session also featured a stewards’ investigation involving Max Verstappen and Williams driver Carlos Sainz. Both drivers were charged with erratic driving after an early‑session incident. Sainz initially impeded Verstappen’s line into Turn 12, after which Verstappen appeared to brake unexpectedly, forcing Sainz to take evasive action.
The stewards issued a formal warning to Sainz but took no further action against Verstappen. A second alleged incident involving Sainz and Alpine rookie Paul Aron at Turn 9 was also reviewed, but again no penalties were applied. Williams’ Carlos Sainz recorded the slowest time of the session, a result compounded by a significant lock‑up at the first corner that saw multiple drivers, including Russell and Verstappen, run wide.
The incident highlighted the challenges of getting the car onto the optimal racing line on the Hungaroring’s tight, twisty layout. The practice schedule for the weekend is packed: Friday, July 24, sees Practice Two beginning at 4 p.m., followed by the F1 Show at 5:15 p.m. Saturday includes the F3 Sprint at 9 a.m., Practice Three at 11:30 a.m., the F2 Sprint, and qualifying sessions culminating in the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying at 3 p.m.
Sunday’s program features the F3 Feature Race, Porsche Supercup, F2 Feature Race, and the main Grand Prix race itself, which is slated to start at 2 p.m. All sessions are broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a contract and the option to cancel at any time. In summary, the first practice at the Hungaroring delivered a mixture of high‑speed performance and technical setbacks.
Leclerc’s early dominance was curtailed by an unexplained mechanical issue, while Aston Martin’s ambitious upgrade package was marred by a rear‑suspension failure on Stroll’s car. The data gathered from these sessions will be crucial for teams as they fine‑tune their setups ahead of qualifying and the race, where every tenth of a second will count in the battle for podium positions.