George Russell acknowledged that the worries Mercedes harboured regarding Ferrari's likely blistering speed at the Hungarian Grand Prix have indeed been confirmed after a Friday practice session that was clearly dominated by their title‑challenging rivals. Mercedes, who have amassed eight victories from the ten races contested so far this season, entered the Hungaroring with a comfortable lead in the championship. However, the circuit’s tight, twisty layout – with its numerous slow corners and short straights – sparked speculation that Ferrari, the winners of the other two Grand Prix this year and a team whose car excels in cornering, could pose the biggest threat over the weekend. Those pre‑race predictions proved 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 Charles Leclerc ahead of Lewis Hamilton. By contrast, Mercedes struggled to keep pace, slipping to fifth and thirteenth fastest in the two sessions, a full 0.9 seconds off their nearest rivals – an unusually large margin that highlighted balance issues and a lack of single‑lap speed. Lando Norris, driving a heavily upgraded McLaren, managed third, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fourth. Russell, who recorded the fifth‑fastest time, described the day as “quite a strange one for everybody.” He noted that Budapest is a fantastic circuit but added that recent resurfacing had left half the track uneven and bumpy, especially around the final corners, making the car’s handling unpredictable.
"Our single‑lap pace didn’t look great. The long‑run looked more competitive, but what we feared about Ferrari seems to have been the case," he said. "They look very, very strong." Ferrari’s championship leader, Carlos Sainz, who sat out the first practice session to allow rookie Frederik Vesti to meet the series’ driver‑running requirements, ended up thirteenth after a soft‑tyre stint was disrupted by a red flag caused by Franco Colapinto’s crash and by his own mistakes, including a heavy lock‑up at Turn Two. Russell added that the team 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 change a lot." Although Ferrari have benefited from a degree of luck, both of their wins this season have come in the last four races, and Hungary marked only the second occasion this year that they had been the outright fastest on a conventional Friday.
Leclerc topped the opening session by a sizeable 0.4 seconds and then finished just 0.148 seconds behind Hamilton in the second practice. He described the day as "relatively strong," adding that the car felt good from the start and performance seemed solid.
"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 we had today, so we’ll have to do everything perfectly.
If the feeling is there I’m sure we’ll do a good job in Q3." Hamilton, speaking after the session, said the day was "solid overall" despite challenging conditions. He highlighted the wind and the bumpy patches of track, noting that the car felt better in FP2 and that the team had made progress between the two sessions, though there remained several areas to improve. He promised that the data would be analysed overnight to fine‑tune the balance and extract more performance. Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur kept his optimism in check, warning that a fast 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," he said. "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 also caught the attention of rivals. 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." McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who was eighth fastest in the one‑car McLaren that did not carry the team’s 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 weekend schedule is packed: Saturday features an F3 sprint, the third practice session for the Hungarian GP, an F2 sprint, and qualifying, while Sunday includes an F3 feature race, the Porsche Supercup, the F2 feature race, and the Grand Prix itself, which kicks off at 2 pm on Sky Sports F1.
All sessions will be streamed live, and viewers can watch via NOW without a long‑term contract. The Hungarian Grand Prix promises to be a pivotal round in the championship, especially if Mercedes can close the gap to Ferrari and reclaim the pace advantage they have enjoyed for most of the season.