Lando Norris laid down an early marker at the Hungaroring by topping the timesheets in FP1 for the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, as the McLaren driver led a dominant 1-2 ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc followed closely in third for Ferrari, as teams began their work for round 14 of the 2025 F1 World Championship under scorching Budapest conditions.
What To Know
- Lando Norris set the fastest lap with a 1:16.052, just 0.019s ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri.
- Fernando Alonso missed the session due to injury; Felipe Drugovich replaced him for Aston Martin.
- Rookie Paul Aron’s FP1 outing for Sauber ended early due to a technical issue that caused a VSC.
The session began with a notable change to the driver lineup: Aston Martin confirmed just before the green light that Fernando Alonso would sit out the first session due to a muscular back injury. Stepping into his AMR25 was reserve driver Felipe Drugovich, who took on FP1 duties as the team continued to assess Alonso’s condition for the rest of the weekend. Sauber also featured a fresh face, as Estonian rookie Paul Aron made his second appearance of the season, again subbing for Nico Hülkenberg after his FP1 debut at Silverstone.
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When the session began, it was Lewis Hamilton—an eight-time winner at this circuit—who led the field onto the track. The Ferrari driver quickly got to work on the medium tyres while eight others, including his Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli, opted for the harder compound early on. The session settled into a rhythm, but Alpine’s Pierre Gasly reported “no power” just minutes in, triggering an early visit to the garage as his team diagnosed the issue.
Norris hit the ground running with a strong initial time of 1:17.631, nearly a second quicker than Hamilton at the time. His lap prompted questions from the seven-time world champion, who asked his engineer where he was losing out. The answer? Turns 5, 8, and 9—corners that typify the Hungaroring’s rhythm-based, technical challenge. Leclerc briefly knocked Norris off top spot mid-session before the McLaren man returned fire, becoming the first driver to dip below the 1m 17s mark with a 1:16.837.
The heat took its toll on car performance, with several drivers complaining about grip as track temperatures soared. “The car doesn’t feel good,” Hamilton said over team radio as he returned to the pits just past the halfway point. Meanwhile, Aron’s session came to a premature end when his Sauber suffered a technical failure, prompting yellow flags and a brief Virtual Safety Car period while his car was recovered through the barriers.
As the final third of the session began, attention turned to soft-tyre runs. Norris lit up the timing screens once again, producing a superb 1:16.052 lap—seven tenths clear of Leclerc’s earlier benchmark. Piastri briefly went purple in the first sector but ultimately finished 0.142s behind his teammate. On his second run, the Australian shaved the gap to just 0.019s, underscoring McLaren’s form at a venue where Piastri secured his maiden F1 victory one year ago.
Behind the front three, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar delivered an impressive performance in P4, outpacing the experienced Hamilton, who ended the session fifth. Haas rookie Ollie Bearman slotted into sixth, with Mercedes duo Antonelli and George Russell lining up seventh and eighth as the team trialed a previous suspension specification in search of balance and consistency.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had a relatively muted start to his weekend, finishing ninth, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll rounded out the top ten. Just outside the top half, Alex Albon was 11th for Williams, followed by Esteban Ocon’s Haas and a recovered Gasly in 13th. Liam Lawson was 14th for Racing Bulls, ahead of Carlos Sainz—in Williams colours for 2025—in 15th.
Drugovich, making his first Grand Prix weekend appearance of the season, finished 16th ahead of Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull and Franco Colapinto in the Alpine. Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto managed 19th after a quiet session spent mostly in the garage, while Aron rounded out the order in 20th after completing just nine laps before his car came to a stop.
2025 Hungarian GP FP1 Results
2025 Hungarian Grand Prix FP1, 1 August 2025
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME / GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:16.052 | 25 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.019s | 29 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.217s | 27 |
| 4 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +0.629s | 30 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.682s | 27 |
| 6 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +0.826s | 25 |
| 7 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.828s | 26 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.873s | 25 |
| 9 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | +0.888s | 24 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.906s | 24 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +0.932s | 27 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +0.952s | 25 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.071s | 26 |
| 14 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +1.132s | 28 |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +1.143s | 30 |
| 16 | 34 | Felipe Drugovich | Aston Martin | +1.217s | 26 |
| 17 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing | +1.341s | 26 |
| 18 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +1.412s | 28 |
| 19 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | +1.600s | 17 |
| 20 | 97 | Paul Aron | Kick Sauber | +3.736s | 9 |
Race Guide
Race: 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix
Season: 2025 F1 World Championship
Race weekend: 1 August 2025 – 3 August 2025
Race date: Sunday, 3 August 2025
Race start time: 15:00 local time
Circuit: Hungaroring
Laps: 70
Circuit length: 4.381km
2024 winner: Oscar Piastri
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