Charles Leclerc finished fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver heading Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and team mate Lewis Hamilton.
The Monegasque driver set a 1m 19.075s, leaving him half a second clear of Verstappen, before suffering an issue in the final 10 minutes which brought his Ferrari to a stop in the pit lane entry.
With many teams bringing a raft of upgrades to Budapest, all drivers immediately headed out onto the Hungaroring circuit once the session went live at 1330 local time, with the venue set to host the 40th Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.
This included five rookie drivers, with Fred Vesti notably in Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes as the Drivers’ Championship leader watched from the sidelines for the opening one-hour session on Friday.
Team mate and title rival George Russell moved to the top of the times after the opening salvos, posting a 1m 22.056s on the medium Pirelli rubber, before Leclerc set a 1m 20.884s as the track surface began to clear up rapidly.
Having backed off on his opening flying lap after finding Carlos Sainz’s Williams on the racing line into Turn 12 – with both noted for driving erratically which will be investigated after the session – Verstappen moved to the top of the times with a 1m 20.788s, despite complaining that “the downshifts are horrendous”.
Leclerc was also briefly blocked by Hamilton at Turn 12 before setting a new benchmark with his next effort – a 1m 20.287s – approaching the 15-minute mark.
Hamilton moved into second, three tenths adrift, but the seven-time World Champion complained that his car’s ride was too stiff, as Colton Herta (in for Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac) and Alex Albon’s Williams both suffered lock-ups into Turn 1.
Russell became the first driver to move onto the soft rubber just before the halfway point and instantly set a new session-best with a 1m 20.066s, but he was beaten almost immediately by Verstappen’s 1m 19.559s.
Norris had been quickest in the opening sector, but running wide at Turn 11 over the kerb meant the reigning World Champion backed out.
Leclerc was soon lighting up the timing screen with the red-walled tyre, lowering the best time down to a 1m 19.075s which meant he was half a second clear of Verstappen, with Russell another driver to suffer a big lock-up into Turn 1, leaving the Briton to complain about the ride in his Mercedes.
With just over 20 minutes remaining the red flag was deployed as Lance Stroll in the heavily revised Aston Martin came to a stop on the exit of Turn 3, with the left-rear suspension having failed and which pitched him into a spin.
The session resumed with 17 minutes remaining, as drivers and teams continued to focus on Qualifying simulations with the soft tyre, while Sainz suffered a huge double-front lock-up into Turn 1.
Leclerc remained fastest at the chequered flag, but his session came to an end with seven minutes still remaining after something broke in his Ferrari at Turn 13 and he came to a halt having recovered to the entry of the pit lane.
Verstappen finished ahead of Hamilton, with Isack Hadjar making it both Red Bulls inside the top four, as Russell, Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), Vesti, Nico Hulkenberg in the second Audi and the two Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the top 10.
Norris was left in P11, followed by Esteban Ocon (Haas), Fernando Alonso utilising Aston Martin’s new upgrade, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Albon.
Reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli was back in action for McLaren in place of Oscar Piastri, the Italian testing the team’s new ‘flip-flop’-style rear wing that first appeared in Austria.
Ryo Hirakawa (in for Ollie Bearman at Haas), Sergio Perez (Cadillac), Paul Aron (in for Franco Colapinto at Alpine), Herta, Stroll and Sainz completed the order ahead of FP2 later on Friday.
