George Russell acknowledged that Mercedes' anxieties regarding Ferrari's potential speed advantage at the Hungarian Grand Prix have indeed materialised, as the Friday practice sessions were clearly dominated by their title‑contending rivals. Mercedes have been the leading force in the championship so far, amassing eight victories from the first ten races. Yet the tight, twisty configuration of the Hungaroring prompted many pundits to suggest that Ferrari – the winners of the other two Grand Prix this season and a team whose car excels in high‑speed cornering – could pose the biggest threat over the weekend.
Those pre‑race predictions proved spot on on Friday. Ferrari comfortably topped both free‑practice sessions, even achieving a one‑two finish in the more representative second hour, with Lewis Hamilton (driving for Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (for Ferrari) occupying the top two spots.
By contrast, Mercedes struggled to keep pace, with their best time in the second practice session only good enough for fifth place, and a further entry slipping to thirteenth. The gap to their nearest rivals was an unusually large 0.9 seconds, highlighting balance issues and a lack of single‑lap speed. Lando Norris, who was driving an extensively upgraded McLaren, managed third, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fourth.
"It was a rather odd day for everyone," said Russell, who recorded the fifth‑fastest time. "Budapest is a fantastic circuit, but half the track has been resurfaced and it’s extremely bumpy. The last few corners are breaking up, which makes the car behave strangely." He continued, "Our one‑lap pace didn’t look great.
Over a longer run we were more competitive, but the thing we feared about Ferrari seems to have been confirmed. They look very, very strong." Ferrari’s championship leader, Antonelli, who missed the first practice session while the team complied with rookie‑driver running requirements using Frederik Vesti, ended the second session in thirteenth place. His soft‑tyre runs were disrupted by a red‑flag caused by Franco Colapinto’s crash, and he later made a significant lock‑up at Turn Two, further compromising his time.
Russell added, "We have a lot of work to do as a team. Ferrari are currently a clear step ahead of everyone else. Both Kimi and I felt the car was far from ideal, and there is definitely room for improvement. The wind was strong today and its direction is shifting, which could change things dramatically." Although Ferrari have benefited from a degree of luck, both of their victories this season have come in the last four races, and Hungary marked only the second occasion this year that they have been the outright fastest on a conventional Friday.
Leclerc topped the opening session by a sizable 0.4 seconds and then finished just 0.148 seconds behind Hamilton in the second practice, commenting, "It was a relatively strong day. From the start I felt good with the car and the performance seemed solid straight away. That’s encouraging, but the weekend is long and we usually see a performance jump between Friday and Saturday." He went on, "Usually we are on the back foot on Fridays, so a good Friday is a positive sign, but we still need to stay focused and work hard to improve.
Qualifying will be tight as always. I don’t expect to keep the gap we had today, so we’ll have to be perfect in Q3. If the feeling stays, I’m confident we’ll do well." Hamilton, speaking in Ferrari’s end‑of‑day press release, said, "It was a solid day overall. The conditions were challenging, with the wind making things tricky and the track feeling bumpy in places.
The car felt better in FP2 and we made progress between the sessions, but there are still areas to improve. We’ll analyse the data overnight, keep working on balance and hope to extract a little more performance." Team principal Frédéric Vasseur remained cautious despite the impressive Friday results. "So far, so good, but a pole on Friday doesn’t guarantee a race win," he warned.
"It’s nice to start the weekend like this, but let’s see what happens tomorrow – that will be a different story. I think Norris didn’t finish his lap, so we’ll see tomorrow." Ferrari’s speed attracted attention from other teams as well.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who was sixth quickest, remarked, "I knew they’d be quick on a circuit like this. Right now we’re waiting for Mercedes to wake up. As always, I think it’ll be very close with the McLarens.
That’s where we stand at the moment." Oscar Piastri, eighth fastest in the lone McLaren that did not carry its major upgrade on Friday, added, "The Ferraris have looked very quick in both sessions. But Lando looked competitive in the second one, especially. The Mercedes is hard to read, so let’s see tomorrow.
If we execute a good day, there could be a lot at stake." The weekend schedule is packed: Saturday morning features an F3 sprint, followed by the third Hungarian GP practice at 11:15 am, an F2 sprint at 1:10 pm, and qualifying later in the afternoon. Sunday includes an F3 feature race, the Porsche Supercup, the F2 feature race, and finally the Hungarian Grand Prix itself, which kicks off at 2 pm on Sky Sports F1. All sessions are streamed live, and fans can watch via NOW without a contract, cancelling at any time.
Overall, Russell’s comments underscore a clear message: Mercedes must address balance and single‑lap pace issues quickly if they hope to keep their championship lead, while Ferrari appears to have found a rhythm that could challenge the status quo at Budapest and beyond.