Antonelli: Budapest was the wrong choice to give up training

– Did Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri have a disadvantage in qualifying because they had to let a rookie take the wheel in the first practice session on Friday? Both had skipped the first practice session at the Hungaroring to fulfill an obligation that affects every regular driver – unless they are a rookie themselves – twice a year: giving up their own car in favor of another driver.

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When teams fulfill their obligation is up to them. Of course, there are tracks where one would want to avoid this: street circuits like Monaco, new tracks like Madrid, or weekends where only one practice session is available anyway due to the sprint format.

Instead, tracks where one already has enough experience are usually chosen, such as Barcelona or Abu Dhabi – or Budapest. Five teams took the opportunity on Friday to complete one of the four mandatory sessions – including Mercedes and McLaren.

Instead of Antonelli, Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti was in the car, while at McLaren, Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli was allowed to sit in the car for Piastri. But after qualifying, both were anything but happy about the timing.

“I probably didn’t choose the best races to skip the first practice session, because the conditions here also turned out to be much more demanding than expected,” Antonelli had to admit after Mercedes missed pole position for the first time this season.

“I realized this year that, especially with this car, it’s never optimal to miss the first practice session because you first have to get into the rhythm. So that definitely sets you back a bit, especially when the conditions are as challenging as this weekend,” says the Italian.

Piastri: Skipping had a greater impact than expected

He believes he could have gotten a bit more out of the car if he had driven the first session. “The setup might also have been chosen a bit differently,” he says. Because then he could have given different input for the setup direction. “So it definitely wasn’t ideal.”

Oscar Piastri, who only finished in fifth place while teammate Lando Norris took pole, expressed similar sentiments. Although his final lap was ruined by Lewis Hamilton, it wasn’t easy for him this weekend anyway, having been on the back foot after skipping the first session.

“I think missing the first practice session definitely had a bit more impact than I thought, because the track conditions were quite different from what we’re used to,” says the Australian. “Considering that, while the conditions today were quite different from yesterday, it was simply hard to catch up.”

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“And I felt like I was slowly getting closer with each lap in qualifying. I felt like I needed that second run in Q3 more than on most other weekends, and not being able to do it was quite frustrating,” he notes.

Colapinto and Bearman also lose team duel

Indeed, Budapest did not seem to be the happiest choice for utilizing the Friday rule, as Franco Colapinto (Alpine), who had to make way for Paul Aron, and Oliver Bearman (Haas), who let Ryo Hirakawa take the wheel, also lost their respective team duels on Saturday.

The Friday drivers at a glance

“I’m still playing catch-up,” Colapinto laments. “Without the first practice session, I couldn’t really set up the car the way I wanted, and then you have to do a lot at once in the second practice session. The track was crazy, it was windy, and the car was quite modest to drive and, as always, a bit unpredictable.”

The consequence: Colapinto crashed in the second practice session and lost more valuable time on track, including experience with full fuel tanks. “I barely drove any laps yesterday, it was only four fast laps, three fast laps,” he says. “Today we had an extreme amount of catching up to do.”

Antonelli has fulfilled his obligation

The rule regarding Friday drivers was introduced in 2022 to give young drivers more time in the car. Initially, each team had the obligation once per season and per car to let a rookie, who had not yet driven more than two Grands Prix, participate in practice. Since last year, the rule has been extended to two appearances per car.

“I don’t think it helps, but you have to do it,” says Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff to Sky regarding Antonelli’s lack of experience in Budapest. “At some point, you have to sit out, and perhaps it harmed us more there.”

But: With this outing, Antonelli has fulfilled his obligation this season, as Vesti also sat in his car in Barcelona. “At least that’s done now, so I don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the season,” says the Italian.

Teammate George Russell, however, has not yet given up his two sessions (for an overview of the 2026 Friday drivers).

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