Formula 1 Live Ticker: The Qualifying in Hungary Live Now!

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The qualifying in Budapest begins in ten minutes, and we are now moving the action back to our session ticker. So, there’s a short break here; after the end of qualifying, we will continue at this point with the reactions to Saturday.

And if you want to know how you can watch the Hungarian race live stream this weekend, you can find out here!

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Can Mercedes fight for pole right away? Andrew Shovlin explains after yesterday’s difficulties: “We have a quite different car today.” And in his opinion, the changes also seem to be working.

“It’s damn close at the front with Ferrari and McLaren,” he knows. Nevertheless, Shovlin confidently says: “Hopefully, the cars can fight for the front row again.”

Gabriele Mini has just won the Formula 2 sprint race. An important victory for the Alpine junior, who is in second place in the championship. Because championship leader Nikola Tsolov from Red Bull did not see the checkered flag.

The Bulgarian retired after a collision with Sebastian Montoya. Oliver Goethe also remained without points, finishing twelfth.

Lewis Hamilton has already been on pole nine times at the Hungaroring. That is a record in Formula 1. The Briton could therefore become the first driver in the history of the premier class to take ten poles at one track.

However, it won’t be easy, as all ten pole positions so far this year went to Hamilton’s former employer Mercedes. Will this streak end today? It seems at least not impossible.

A quick note on our own behalf: Today and tomorrow evening, there will be a major video analysis of the events in Budapest on the Formel1.de YouTube channel. The planned start time is always 21:00.

Report

Result

The third and final practice session in Budapest begins in ten minutes. We are now moving the action to our session ticker. So, there’s a short break here; after the end of practice, we will continue at this point as usual.

And if you want to know how you can watch Formula 1 live stream this Hungarian weekend, you can find out here!

Pirelli is currently still unsure about which strategy will prevail on Sunday. After Friday’s impressions, Simone Berra explains: “The insights from the first two hours of practice indicate that there is still uncertainty about how many pit stops we expect to see in Sunday’s race.”

“Given the higher tire wear observed during the second session, when drivers pushed more, a two-stop strategy seems to offer an advantage over a one-stop race,” says Berra.

“However, the difficulty of overtaking at the Hungaroring must also be taken into account, as track position remains a crucial factor on this circuit,” says the chief engineer.

Meaning: Both variants are possible and can lead to success.

A small side note from Hungary: Ferrari and the Racing Bulls broke the curfew last night. However, there is no penalty in either case.

Ferrari has used its first joker this year, the Racing Bulls their second. In total, there are four of them. We do not yet know exactly why they had to or wanted to break the curfew.

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The Hungaroring is often compared to Monaco because overtaking is so difficult here. In fact, none of the last five races in Budapest have been won from pole position.

Lewis Hamilton last achieved this in 2020. Since then, the winner has always come from further back; in 2022, Max Verstappen even triumphed from P10. In 2025, winner Lando Norris started from P3.

You can read all about it in our large database.

Yesterday, many drivers complained about the poor condition of the asphalt after practice. This has now been addressed, as the first corner at the Hungaroring was partially re-asphalted overnight.

Other areas of the track were also affected by the problems. However, the asphalt was only renewed in Turn 1 because it had broken on the racing line there.

In the other corners, drivers can avoid the problems.

The first race of the day is already over. In the Formula 3 sprint race, Theophile Nael just triumphed ahead of Kanato Le, who thus secured his first podium finish in Formula 3.

Not much has changed in the fight for the championship. Leader Ugo Ugochukwu finished outside the points, and challenger Freddie Slater also collected only one point in P10.

Both are now tied on 104 points.

We quickly glance at the sky and see some clouds there. However, as yesterday, it is expected to remain dry at the Hungaroring. For Sunday, however, there is still at least a small chance of rain.

We are keeping an eye on the situation as always.

You can find out which drivers already have a contract for the 2027 Formula 1 season and which cockpits are officially still free in this overview.

Photo Gallery: The Formula 1 Drivers 2027

Max Verstappen doesn’t have to worry about his future in Formula 1 – unless he plans a move to Mercedes. Toto Wolff has once again confirmed to Sky that he does not want to change the driver pairing.

While he could imagine “having Verstappen in the team at some point,” he says. But currently, they are “happy” with the dynamic between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

“We have made great progress as a team,” says the team principal. Therefore, it is “not the right thing for our long-term development” to bring a new driver into the team now.

Several experts believe that Esteban Ocon will drive his last Formula 1 season in 2026. Former Haas team principal Günther Steiner also sees it this way. In the Red Flags Podcast, he says that Ocon’s gap to Oliver Bearman is too large.

“I believe that is currently the biggest difference between teammates in the championship. Especially in qualifying,” says Steiner, adding: “So I don’t think he has a future there.”

“I think this is his last year there,” suspects the expert, who is not alone in this opinion. In the championship, Ocon is clearly behind Bearman with 3:18 points.

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