2026 Hungarian GP FP1: Leclerc sets the pace before late Ferrari drama

Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari the perfect start to the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend by topping Free Practice 1 at the Hungaroring, although the Monegasque driver’s encouraging morning ended prematurely after a late mechanical problem left him stranded before the chequered flag.

Leclerc’s benchmark lap of 1m19.075s proved comfortably good enough to head the opening session of Formula 1’s visit to Budapest, finishing 0.484s clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton completing the top three. The result offered an early indication that Ferrari could be a genuine contender this weekend as the fight for the championship resumes ahead of Formula 1’s final race before the summer break.

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  2026 Hungarian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

2026 Hungarian Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 Hungarian Grand Prix FP1, 24 July 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:19.075	19
2	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.484s	25
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.543s	23
4	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+0.922s	25
5	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.991s	21
6	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.285s	30
7	72	Frederik Vesti	Mercedes	+1.392s	24
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.548s	29
9	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.685s	28
10	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.791s	28
11	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.949s	26
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.976s	24
13	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.475s	20
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+2.629s	29
15	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.744s	28
16	67	Leonardo Fornaroli	McLaren	+2.815s	29
17	50	Ryo Hirakawa	Haas F1 Team	+2.926s	25
18	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+3.014s	22
19	61	Paul Aron	Alpine	+3.093s	28
20	25	Colton Herta	Cadillac	+4.043s	28
21	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+4.396s	11
22	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+4.659s	23

The opening hour of track action began at 13:30 local time, with every driver eager to get out on circuit immediately as teams evaluated extensive upgrade packages brought to the Hungaroring for the 40th running of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Conditions evolved rapidly as the traditionally dusty circuit gained grip throughout the session, resulting in constant improvements on the timing screens.

Friday’s first practice also featured five rookie appearances. The most notable came at Mercedes, where Fred Vesti took over championship leader Kimi Antonelli’s car, allowing the Italian to sit out the mandatory rookie session. Colton Herta replaced Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac, reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli stepped into Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, Paul Aron drove for Alpine in place of Franco Colapinto, while Ryo Hirakawa took Ollie Bearman’s Haas for the opening hour.

George Russell established the first representative benchmark by setting a 1m22.056s on the medium-compound Pirellis before Leclerc immediately lowered the pace with a 1m20.884s as grip levels improved.

Verstappen’s opening qualifying-style effort was compromised after encountering Carlos Sainz’s Williams on the racing line approaching Turn 12. Both drivers were noted for allegedly driving erratically in the incident, which was referred to the stewards for investigation after the session. Despite abandoning his first attempt, Verstappen quickly recovered to move fastest with a 1m20.788s, although the reigning World Champion reported over team radio that the car’s “downshifts are horrendous”.

Ferrari’s encouraging pace continued as Leclerc briefly found himself delayed by Hamilton through Turn 12 before immediately responding with a 1m20.287s to return to the top of the timesheets around the 15-minute mark. Hamilton slotted into second place but reported that the ride quality of his Ferrari felt too stiff, while elsewhere both Herta and Alex Albon suffered sizeable lock-ups into Turn 1 as drivers searched for the limit.

The session moved into qualifying simulation runs shortly before the halfway point when Russell became the first driver to bolt on the soft-compound tyres. The Mercedes driver instantly jumped to the top with a 1m20.066s, only for Verstappen to respond moments later with a 1m19.559s.

Lando Norris briefly looked capable of challenging that benchmark after setting the quickest first sector, but the McLaren driver ran wide over the kerbs at Turn 11 and was forced to abandon the lap before reaching the finish line.

Leclerc then delivered the standout lap of the morning. Using the soft tyres, the Ferrari driver found almost half a second over Verstappen to produce a session-best 1m19.075s that remained unbeaten for the rest of the hour. Russell also attempted another improvement but locked both front tyres heavily into Turn 1 before complaining further about the balance and ride of his Mercedes.

The first interruption of the weekend arrived with just over 20 minutes remaining when Lance Stroll triggered a red flag. The Aston Martin driver suffered a failure of the left-rear suspension exiting Turn 3, pitching the AMR26 into a spin before he came to a stop off the circuit. The Canadian climbed out unharmed, although the incident cut short valuable running for Aston Martin as the team evaluated its heavily revised upgrade package.

Following a brief clean-up, the session resumed with 17 minutes left on the clock, allowing teams to continue their soft-tyre qualifying programmes. Sainz endured another difficult moment by locking both front tyres dramatically into Turn 1, while drivers continued extracting performance from the rapidly improving circuit.

Although Leclerc remained comfortably quickest, his morning ended in frustrating fashion. With seven minutes remaining, the Ferrari developed a mechanical issue through Turn 13, forcing the Monegasque to limp back towards the pit lane before coming to a halt at the pit entry. The problem prevented him from completing the final minutes of the session, but it did not deny him the fastest time.

Verstappen held onto second place ahead of Hamilton, while Isack Hadjar continued Red Bull’s strong start by securing fourth. Russell completed the top five, followed by Gabriel Bortoleto for Audi, Vesti on his Mercedes outing, Nico Hülkenberg in the second Audi, and Racing Bulls duo Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, who rounded out the top ten.

Norris finished just outside the top ten in 11th, ahead of Haas driver Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin’s upgraded package, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Albon.

Further down the order, Fornaroli continued McLaren’s evaluation programme by testing the team’s experimental ‘flip-flop’ style rear wing, first introduced at the Austrian Grand Prix. Hirakawa, Sergio Perez for Cadillac, Aron, Herta, Stroll and Sainz completed the classification as attention now turns to Friday afternoon’s second practice session, where teams will begin their longer race simulation programmes ahead of qualifying.