– Is Ferrari the big favorite at the Formula 1 weekend in Budapest (follow live in the ticker here)? At least Friday is firmly in red hands: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were half a second ahead of the rest of the world in practice.
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Hamilton set the fastest time of the day in 1:18.729 minutes, followed by his teammate Leclerc, who was 0.148 seconds slower than the seven-time world champion. Lando Norris (McLaren), who finished third, was already 0.499 seconds off the best time.
Behind them, Max Verstappen (+0.692) took fourth place ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell, who was already almost a second behind. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) finished sixth, ahead of Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren). Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) once again landed in the top 10 in ninth place, which was rounded off by Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls).
World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished only in 13th place, 1.9 seconds behind, but unlike his competitors, he did not set his time on soft tires but on mediums.
The session had to be interrupted for a few minutes after Franco Colapinto (Alpine) went off, Lance Stroll was not at the start after his damage in the first practice session.
The most important things in brief:
Result: 2nd Free Practice in Budapest
Friday’s overall result
Photos: Hungarian Grand Prix 2026
F1 Ticker: Paddock live with Ruben Zimmermann
Why was there a red flag?
About half of the session had been completed when it had to be interrupted. Franco Colapinto had gone off in his Alpine in the last corner and crashed backwards into the track barrier.
Colapinto had lost control of his car while braking for the corner. The Alpine spun and drove backwards towards the barrier, which it hit, damaging at least the rear wing. “I’m fine,” radioed the Argentinian, whose session was thus over.
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After about six minutes of pause, the rest of the drivers could continue.
Why were only 21 drivers present?
One driver could not participate in the second free practice session: Lance Stroll. For Aston Martin, the time between sessions was not enough to repair the car after the incident in the first session.
There, the left rear suspension of the AMR26 suddenly collapsed and sent Stroll into a spin. Although he didn’t hit anything, his car was not ready in time.
What’s next at the Hungarian Grand Prix 2026
Formula 1 Saturday (July 25) in Budapest begins at 12:30 PM with the third and final free practice session. The qualifying for Sunday’s race will follow at 4 PM. Kevin Scheuren and Kevin Hermann will report from 9 PM in the YouTube livestream and discuss all important topics regarding qualification.
On Sunday (July 26), the race start at the Hungaroring is scheduled for 3 PM. At 9 PM, Kevin Scheuren and Kevin Hermann will start their Grand Prix analysis. As always, channel members can ask their questions live.
Please refer to our current overview for all information on streams and TV broadcasts in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Details on the weather forecast can be found in our preview.
First, the summer break is now approaching, before the race in Zandvoort continues in four weeks at the end of August. (View the 2026 race calendar here!)
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