Lewis Hamilton secured a victory in the Ferrari grid sector, showing a dominant 1-2 position during the second session of free practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday. He overtook his teammate Charles Leclerc, setting the pace for the team.
Results and Records
The seven-time champion, who could potentially become the first driver to achieve 10 pole positions at this track, recorded the fastest lap time of 1:18.729, beating Leclerc by 0.148 seconds. Hamilton holds a career record of 104 pole positions and hopes to replicate his recent qualifying success achieved in Hungary in 2023. He is currently in second place in the drivers' championship, trailing Kimmi Antonelli by 45 points.
Competitor Positions
World Champion Lando Norris, who won at the Hungaroring last year, finished third for McLaren but was half a second behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull and George Russell of Mercedes. In the hot and dry day with gusts of wind, Isaac Hajar was sixth in the second Red Bull car, ahead of Liam Lawson from Racing Bulls, Oscar Piastri from the second McLaren, and Nico Hülkenberg from Audi.
Team Issues
Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad finished tenth, while Antonelli fought for thirteenth place in his Mercedes after previously missing the start because the team provided his car to its test and reserve driver. Two-time Aston Martin champion Fernando Alonso finished nineteenth in the heavily updated car, but his teammate Lance Stroll could not participate in the session due to a suspension failure in the first free practice. The team implemented nearly new cars, equipped with 16 updates for Stroll and Alonso, and an additional engine update is planned after the summer break.
Session Dynamics
Franco Colapinto set the first lap time, after which Leclerc, and then Hamilton took control for Ferrari. The British driver completed a lap in 1:19.648, while Antonelli was completing his first lap, taking eighth place. Later, Russell reported poor balance, noting that 'it feels awful, like the car is unbalanced,' when he finished fourth. Antonelli stated that 'I spun almost twice—what is happening?'
After 20 minutes, Hamilton improved his time to 1:19.585, overtaking Leclerc by a tenth, with Verstappen in third place ahead of Russell and Antonelli. The Dutchman noted issues with the seat. After 25 minutes, Norris switched to soft tyres and took first place with a time of 1:19.228, followed by Verstappen, trailing by two tenths. Then Colapinto spun and crashed at the last corner, leading to a red flag. The Argentine remained unharmed.
After six minutes, the session resumed when Antonelli struggled and spun in the chicane, while Leclerc and Hamilton regained the initiative, recording times of 1:18.877 and 1:18.914 respectively—overtaking Norris by 0.351 seconds in third position. Hamilton then improved his time to take first place with 15 minutes remaining, while frustrated Antonelli darted around and locked up the wheels at the second corner in a cloud of dust.
