By Bilal Ahmed
Lando Norris of McLaren set the fastest time during Saturday’s third practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. He finished ahead of Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes‘ Kimi Antonelli in a closely contested session where McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes showed similar performance.
Norris achieved a best time of 1 minute, 17.939 seconds. This time was just over a tenth of a second faster than both Hamilton and Antonelli, as drivers prepared for the upcoming qualifying session. The conditions at the Hungaroring were notably hot.
Practice Session Dynamics
The session began at 12:30 local time with Alpine driver Franco Colapinto being the first to take to the track. Colapinto had experienced significant car damage on Friday after sliding into the barriers at the final corner, which limited his running time. Lance Stroll also made an early appearance, having missed all of FP2 and spun out of FP1 due to a suspension issue. He aimed to gain understanding of the updated Aston Martin alongside teammate Fernando Alonso.
Meanwhile, Arvid Lindblad‘s Racing Bulls car remained on jacks due to a power unit problem. His team had worked overnight to address a similar issue on Liam Lawson‘s car. About a third of the way into the session, with drivers like Antonelli, George Russell, and Max Verstappen yet to emerge, Norris led for McLaren with a time of 1 minute, 19.062 seconds on soft tyres, a couple of tenths quicker than Red Bull‘s Isack Hadjar.
The session was interrupted when Sergio Perez encountered trouble exiting the pit lane, stopping on the approach to Turn 2 and causing a red flag. The Cadillac driver reported losing his engine and experiencing a significant brake issue, with his rear brakes appearing to be on fire. After the track was cleared and Perez returned to the pits, the practice resumed at 12:56, leaving just over 30 minutes for drivers to complete their programmes.
Antonelli, Russell, and Verstappen eventually joined the track. Antonelli‘s initial lap placed him second behind Norris, while Verstappen was fifth, behind his teammate Hadjar and Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli initially held sixth position but had his lap time removed for exceeding track limits.
A few minutes later, Hamilton moved into first place with a time of 1 minute, 19.053 seconds. His teammate Leclerc then went even faster with 1 minute, 18.668 seconds. Antonelli then placed between the two Ferrari drivers, though he requested a check of his Mercedes‘ floor after hitting the Turn 4 kerb.
Final Moments and Qualifying Preparations
In the final 15 minutes, Antonelli, who is the championship leader, improved his time to 1 minute, 18.254 seconds, taking the lead. However, Norris, driving an upgraded McLaren, reclaimed the top spot with a time of 1 minute, 18.206 seconds. Hamilton then improved to 1 minute, 18.056 seconds, but Norris further lowered his benchmark to 1 minute, 17.939 seconds, avoiding a slide through the final corner.
Antonelli ultimately finished third, followed by Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Russell secured sixth place, six-tenths of a second off the leading pace. The Red Bulls of Verstappen and Hadjar took seventh and eighth positions, respectively, with Hadjar describing his car as “undriveable” late in the session.
Lawson achieved an encouraging ninth place for Racing Bulls, ahead of Audi drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Lindblad‘s other VCARB 03 car made it out in the closing stages, splitting the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto. Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman followed, with the revised Aston Martins of Alonso and Stroll, Cadillac‘s Valtteri Bottas, and Williams pair Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon completing the field ahead of the sidelined Perez.
In Friday’s second free practice, Hamilton had topped the times ahead of Leclerc, with Ferrari setting the pace. Hamilton recorded a best lap time of 1 minute, 18.729 seconds. Norris, who won at the Hungaroring last year, was third for McLaren, half a second adrift. Antonelli struggled in that session, finishing 13th after sitting out the earlier practice when his car was given to a test driver.
Hamilton holds a career record of 104 pole positions and will aim to repeat his last qualifying success, which occurred in Hungary in 2023. He is currently second in the drivers’ championship, 45 points behind Kimi Antonelli.
Norris expressed satisfaction after securing pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, noting the tight competition throughout the weekend and the impact of recent upgrades to his car. He mentioned that his laps in Q3 were not his best, but he was pleasantly surprised to be on top.
The Aston Martin team had introduced 16 upgrades for Stroll and Alonso, with an engine upgrade planned after the summer break. Alonso finished 19th in his updated car during Friday’s session.
Russell reported poor balance in his car on Friday, describing it as feeling “dreadful” and out of balance. Antonelli also reported issues, stating he had “almost spun twice.”
Norris took to soft tyres after 25 minutes in Friday’s session and briefly went top with 1 minute, 19.228 seconds before Colapinto spun and crashed, causing a red flag. Action resumed after six minutes, with Antonelli struggling and running off at the chicane, while Leclerc and Hamilton regained the initiative with times of 1 minute, 18.877 seconds and 1 minute, 18.914 seconds, respectively.
Hamilton improved his time with 15 minutes remaining on Friday, while Antonelli locked up at turn two. Norris expressed confidence in his car’s performance and thanked his team for their efforts.
Source: formula1.com
