George Russell acknowledged that the worries Mercedes harboured regarding Ferrari's potential pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix have indeed materialised, as the Friday practice sessions were clearly dominated by their title‑contending rivals. Mercedes currently sit atop the championship leaderboard, having secured eight victories out of the ten races contested so far, yet the tight, twisty layout of the Hungaroring prompted many pundits to suggest that Ferrari – the team that has already claimed the other two Grand Prix wins of the season and whose car excels in high‑speed cornering – could emerge as the benchmark this weekend. Those pre‑race speculations proved accurate on Friday when the Italian outfit comfortably topped both free‑practice sessions. In the more representative second hour of running, Ferrari achieved a one‑two finish, with Lewis Hamilton surprisingly posting the second‑fastest time behind Charles Leclerc.
By contrast, Mercedes struggled to keep up, recording a fifth‑place best in the second practice and slipping to thirteenth overall, a full 0.9 seconds adrift of the leaders. The gap highlighted ongoing 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. "It was a rather odd day for everyone," said Russell, who posted the fifth‑quickest time.
"Budapest is a fantastic circuit, but they resurfaced roughly half of it, making it extremely bumpy. The last couple of corners are breaking up, which makes the car feel quite unstable." He continued, "Our single‑lap pace didn’t look great. Over a longer run we were more competitive, but what we feared about Ferrari seems to have been confirmed.
They look incredibly strong." Ferrari’s championship leader, Antonio Giovinazzi, missed the first practice session as the team satisfied rookie‑driver requirements with Frederik Vesti. When he finally took to the track, his soft‑tyre runs were disrupted by a red‑flag caused by Franco Colapinto’s crash, and he later made a sizeable lock‑up at Turn Two, ultimately ending the session in thirteenth place.
Russell added, "We have a lot of work ahead as a team. Ferrari are currently a clear step ahead of everyone.
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 appears to be shifting, which could change the dynamics dramatically." Although Ferrari have benefited from a degree of luck, their two victories this season have both arrived in the last four races. The Hungarian Grand Prix marked only the second occasion this year that they have been the outright fastest on a conventional Friday session. Leclerc topped the opening practice by a substantial 0.4 seconds and then finished just 0.148 seconds behind Hamilton in the second session.
He remarked, "It was a relatively strong day. From the start I felt good with the car and the performance was immediately evident. That’s encouraging, but the weekend is long and we usually see teams make a big jump between Friday and Saturday." Leclerc went on, "Normally we are on the back foot on Fridays, so it’s nice to have a solid start, but we still need to stay focused and work hard to improve.
Qualifying will be tight as always. I don’t expect to maintain the gap we had today, so we’ll have to be perfect in Q3.
If the feeling persists, I’m confident we’ll do well." Hamilton, speaking on behalf of Ferrari’s end‑of‑day press release, said, "It was a solid day overall. The conditions were challenging – the wind made things tricky and the track felt bumpy in several sections. The car improved in FP2 and we made good progress between the sessions, though there are still areas that need work. We’ll analyse all the data overnight, keep tweaking the balance and hopefully extract a bit more performance." Team principal Frédéric Vasseur, however, cautioned against getting carried away by Friday’s results.
"So far, so good, but a strong Friday doesn’t guarantee pole position, let alone a race win," he warned. "It’s a good start to the weekend, but tomorrow will be a different story. I think Norris didn’t even finish his lap – we’ll see what happens on Saturday." Ferrari’s speed also caught the attention of rivals. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who recorded the sixth‑quickest time, commented, "I knew they would be quick on a circuit like this.
At the moment we are waiting for Mercedes to wake up. As always, I expect a close battle with the McLarens – that’s where we stand right now." Oscar Piastri, the eighth‑quickest driver in the lone McLaren that did not carry its major upgrade on Friday, added, "The Ferraris looked very quick in both sessions.
Lando looked competitive in the second one especially. The Mercedes is very hard to read, so let’s see tomorrow.
If we execute a good day, there could be a lot up for grabs." The schedule for the weekend was also released, outlining a packed programme of support series and F1 sessions. On Saturday, July 25, the day began with an F3 sprint at 9:00 am, followed by the third Hungarian GP practice at 11:15 am, an F2 sprint at 1:10 pm, and the qualifying session later in the afternoon. Sunday, July 26, featured the F3 feature race, Porsche Supercup, F2 feature race, and the Grand Prix itself, which kicked off at 2:00 pm on Sky Sports F1. The race will be streamed via NOW, with a flexible subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
In summary, the Friday practice sessions in Budapest have underscored the growing threat Ferrari poses to Mercedes’s championship dominance. While Mercedes have shown flashes of speed, the combination of a resurfaced, bumpy track and shifting wind conditions has exposed balance issues that the team must resolve quickly. Ferrari, buoyed by recent victories and strong practice performances, appear ready to challenge for pole and possibly the race win. The upcoming qualifying and race will determine whether Mercedes can close the gap or if Ferrari’s momentum will continue to reshape the title fight as the season moves toward its critical second half.