The first practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix took place on a warm and dry Friday afternoon at the Hungaroring, but Fernando Alonso was absent due to a back injury. Aston Martin called in reserve driver Felipe Drugovich to take his place. Over at Sauber, Paul Aron replaced Nico Hulkenberg, making his second FP1 appearance as part of his rookie season.

As the session got underway, drivers began testing on medium and hard Pirelli tyres. McLaren looked strong right from the start, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri taking the top two positions early on. Norris set the pace with a lap time of 1:19.413.

George Russell soon improved on that, posting a 1:19.111 despite reporting issues with his brakes, which he described as “long” and “spongy.” Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly ran into trouble and had to return to the Alpine garage with no power.

Lewis Hamilton also struggled in the early stages. He asked over team radio, “Where is that one second?” and later complained that the car didn’t feel good. At one point, he was more than 1.5 seconds slower than Norris.

While Hamilton was having a tough time, other drivers were showing strong performances. Carlos Sainz was third fastest, and Alex Albon impressed by going fourth in the Williams. Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar also looked sharp, placing sixth and seventh on hard tyres.

Paul Aron’s session came to an early end after a systems critical alarm appeared on his Sauber’s steering wheel. He was told to stop the car and pulled off safely near Turn 13.

In the second half of the session, teams switched to soft tyres to go for quicker lap times. Franco Colapinto was the first to put in a fast time on the soft compound, briefly going sixth. Then Charles Leclerc set a 1:16.7, but Lando Norris quickly responded with a flying lap of 1:16.052 to return to the top of the timesheets. Piastri slotted in just behind him, only 0.019 seconds slower.

Leclerc managed to close the gap on his next lap, improving to within 0.217 seconds of Norris. His Ferrari, fitted with a new floor and updated rear suspension, looked well-balanced and competitive.

There was a moment of tension between Lawson and Hadjar as they came close through a fast section of the track, but Hadjar recovered well to set the fourth fastest time and continued to impress the paddock.

Hamilton briefly climbed to fourth place during the soft tyre runs but later locked up heavily at Turn 1 and returned to the garage. He went back out on medium tyres to complete the session.

In the final minutes, most teams switched back to mediums and hards for longer runs. Russell reported that he was struggling to turn the car, while Mercedes continued evaluating an older rear suspension as part of their effort to improve performance.

At the end of the session, McLaren completed a strong one-two with Norris setting the fastest time of 1:16.052, just ahead of Piastri by 0.019 seconds. Leclerc was third, 0.217 seconds off the pace. Isack Hadjar finished a superb fourth, followed by Lewis Hamilton in fifth. Oliver Bearman was sixth for Haas, with Kimi Antonelli seventh and George Russell eighth for Mercedes. Max Verstappen was ninth for Red Bull, and Lance Stroll completed the top ten for Aston Martin.