Oscar Piastri edged out Lando Norris to secure the fastest time in the Hungarian Grand Prix’s concluding practice session, as McLaren showcased remarkable pace to other Formula 1 teams in advance of the qualifying session.
With approximately a quarter of an hour remaining, Piastri equipped his car with new soft tyres and initiated a subsequent run utilizing the soft compound; the championship contender executed a strong lap and recorded a time of 1m14.916s, which at that point was nearly 0.8s quicker than the next best time set by Lewis Hamilton.
He was subsequently joined at the top of the timing sheets by Lando Norris, who was marginally over a tenth of a second slower after the first two sectors, before the British driver closed the gap with an improved final sector.
Charles Leclerc found himself within the significant gap between the McLarens and the remaining competitors, setting a lap time that was 0.4s off the leading pace, indicating that he concluded in third position during each practice session held during the weekend.
Almost ten minutes elapsed before any driver managed to complete a full lap time in what was a gradual commencement to the session, with Franco Colapinto initiating proceedings with a time of 1m18.006s.
Following a number of drivers recording their initial lap times around the circuit, Yuki Tsunoda’s time of 1m17.022s on medium tyres prompted increased activity as teams began to consider the track conditions suitable for their planned FP3 runs.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Max Verstappen achieved a time of 1m16.547s on soft tyres shortly after Lance Stroll moved to the top of the leaderboard, before the reigning world champion’s lap time was subsequently surpassed by Leclerc’s 1m16.406s.
The Ferrari driver’s period at the summit was brief as George Russell recorded a time 0.094s quicker, but Piastri then completed his initial lap on soft tyres with a time of 1m16.240s.
Verstappen returned for another attempt and posted a time of 1m16.202s, improving by over 0.3s compared to his initial effort; Leclerc appeared poised to gain another three-tenths of a second over the Red Bull driver with a rapid lap, but slightly ran wide at the exit of Turn 12. Nevertheless, he took the lead by 0.065s. Subsequently, Piastri surged into the 1m15s range, recording a time of 1m15.871s.
However, the best was yet to come; as the track activity subsided in anticipation of the final fifteen minutes of the session, Piastri equipped his car with a fresh set of soft tyres and recorded his time of 1m14.916s – surpassing his prior effort by more than 0.9s – and was then followed by Norris.
Leclerc and Hamilton ensured that the Ferraris secured third and fourth positions, while Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli entered the top five with his own final attempt on soft tyres.
The Mercedes pairing was separated by the Aston Martins; Fernando Alonso and Stroll were classified sixth and seventh, while Russell concluded in eighth position, a tenth of a second slower than his teammate, having encountered time loss at the beginning of sector two and throughout sector three.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten as Sauber continued to exhibit encouraging pace, with Oliver Bearman in 11th place and Verstappen only 12th as Red Bull, whose other driver Yuki Tsunoda finished 19th, continued to experience difficulties in achieving overall equilibrium in the car.
