Lando Norris delivered a striking performance in the final practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, signalling that McLaren could be in contention for their first pole position of the season after a substantial upgrade to their car. Norris not only outpaced the Friday session leader, Lewis Hamilton, but also eclipsed the pace of Mercedes’ championship‑leading driver, Kimi Antonelli, showcasing the potential of the revised chassis and aerodynamic package. Going into Saturday’s qualifying, Ferrari appeared to be the dominant force after a commanding display in the opening practice. Their strong lap times placed them firmly in the spotlight, and many pundits expected the Scuderia to carry that momentum into the qualifying showdown.
However, the final hour of practice saw the reigning world champions, McLaren, seize the initiative. The upgraded McLaren, benefitting from a fresh aerodynamic package and refined suspension settings, allowed Norris to extract more performance than his rivals. During the session, Norris initially posted a lap that placed him second behind Hamilton after both drivers completed their first laps on the soft compound tyres.
Undeterred, Norris pushed harder on his second flying lap, delivering a blistering 1:17.939. This time edged out his Ferrari counterpart by 0.117 seconds, propelling Norris to the top of the timesheet and igniting optimism within the McLaren camp. Kimi Antonelli, after a challenging Friday, re‑joined the front‑running group and recorded the third‑fastest time, just 0.129 seconds shy of Norris’s best.
His performance demonstrated that the Mercedes package remained competitive, despite the setbacks earlier in the weekend. Conversely, his teammate George Russell continued to experience difficulties, ultimately finishing only sixth fastest and trailing Norris by 0.6 seconds. Russell’s struggle highlighted the fine margins that separate the front‑row contenders from the rest of the field.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc posted a respectable fourth‑place time, roughly 0.3 seconds off the leading pace, while McLaren’s other driver, Oscar Piastri, settled into fifth, a tenth of a second behind Leclerc. The gap between the two McLaren drivers underscored the team’s overall progress, with both cars now consistently within striking distance of the leading Ferraris. Red Bull, traditionally a dominant force, faced a more arduous session. Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, representing the team, managed seventh and eighth fastest laps respectively, indicating that the Hungarian circuit’s high‑speed layout may have exposed some lingering issues with the current Red Bull package.
Their relative underperformance added an extra layer of intrigue to the upcoming qualifying. The midfield battle appeared to be heating up, with Racing Bulls and Audi emerging as the primary contenders for the top‑midfield slots. Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls secured ninth place, while Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg claimed tenth.
Arvid Lindblad, also driving for Racing Bulls, completed only six laps due to a power‑unit change that kept him off the track for the majority of the session, ultimately recording the thirteenth‑fastest time. Cadillac encountered its own setbacks when a brake fire forced Sergio Perez to abort his lap at Turn One, prompting a safety‑car‑style run‑off. The incident prevented Perez from setting a competitive time for the remainder of the session. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll returned to the track in a heavily upgraded Aston Martin after missing the second Friday session because a rear‑suspension failure caused a spin in the opening practice.
The new‑look AMR26, which has struggled at the back of the grid for much of the season, showed encouraging signs by out‑qualifying both Williams and Cadillac, securing seventeenth for Fernando Alonso and eighteenth for Stroll, albeit 2.4 seconds off the overall best time. These developments set the stage for a highly competitive qualifying session on Saturday, with McLaren hopeful that Norris’s pace can be translated into a pole‑position start.
The team’s engineering staff, led by the seasoned Adrian Newey, will be keen to fine‑tune the car’s balance and tyre strategy to maximize performance on the demanding Budapest circuit. Beyond the on‑track action, Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle remarked, "It's so close, as it always is here.
It bodes incredibly well for this afternoon," highlighting the tight margins that define the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. Fans can look forward to a packed schedule, including a F2 sprint, the main qualifying session, and a full day of racing action on Sunday, featuring F3, Porsche Supercup, and the Grand Prix itself.
For viewers, the race will be streamed live on Sky Sports F1, with the option to watch via the NOW platform, offering a contract‑free experience that can be cancelled at any time. The Hungarian Grand Prix promises to deliver high‑octane drama, with the upgraded McLaren, a resilient Ferrari squad, and a determined Mercedes team all vying for supremacy on the fast, flowing streets of Budapest. In summary, Norris’s standout lap in the final practice not only showcases McLaren’s technical progress but also injects fresh excitement into the championship narrative. As the teams fine‑tune their setups for the crucial qualifying hour, the Hungarian Grand Prix is poised to become a pivotal chapter in the 2024 Formula 1 season, where every tenth of a second can make the difference between a podium start and a midfield scramble.