McLaren’s Lando Norris fastest in Hungarian Grand Prix practice

By Jack Thompson — 25 July 2026 — 3 min read

McLaren driver Lando Norris set the fastest time during Saturday’s third practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. Norris finished ahead of Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli in a closely contested session that saw McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes all performing strongly.

Norris recorded a best lap time of 1 minute, 17.939 seconds in warm conditions. This time placed him just over a tenth of a second faster than both Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli as teams prepared for the upcoming qualifying session.

Practice Session Overview

The practice session began at 12:30 local time with Alpine driver Franco Colapinto being one of the first on track. Colapinto had experienced car damage on Friday after sliding into the barriers. Lance Stroll of Aston Martin also participated early, having missed a previous session due to a suspension issue.

Early in the session, Norris led with a time of 1 minute, 19.062 seconds on soft tyres, ahead of Red Bull‘s Isack Hadjar. However, the session was interrupted when Sergio Perez‘s car stopped on the approach to Turn 2, prompting red flags. Perez reported losing his engine and experiencing brake issues.

Following the red flag period, the practice resumed at 12:56, providing drivers with just over 30 minutes to complete their practice programmes. Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, and Max Verstappen joined the track after the restart. Kimi Antonelli initially placed sixth but had a lap time removed for exceeding track limits.

Tight Competition at the Top

The standings shifted rapidly as Hamilton posted a time of 1 minute, 19.053 seconds, moving into the top spot for Ferrari. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, then went even faster with a 1 minute, 18.668 seconds lap. Kimi Antonelli subsequently positioned himself between the two Ferrari drivers before requesting a check of his car’s floor after hitting a kerb.

In the final 15 minutes, Kimi Antonelli briefly took the lead with a time of 1 minute, 18.254 seconds. Norris then reclaimed the top position with a 1 minute, 18.206 seconds lap. Hamilton improved his time to 1 minute, 18.056 seconds, but Norris ultimately secured the fastest time of the session with his 1 minute, 17.939 seconds benchmark.

Kimi Antonelli finished behind Norris and Hamilton, followed by Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Russell secured sixth place, while Verstappen and Hadjar of Red Bull were seventh and eighth, respectively. Hadjar reported an “undriveable” experience late in the session. Liam Lawson placed ninth for Racing Bulls, ahead of Audi drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. The other Racing Bulls car, driven by Arvid Lindblad, made it out in the closing stages, splitting the Alpine cars of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto. Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman were next, followed by Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Stroll, Cadillac‘s Valtteri Bottas, and Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, with Perez sidelined.

Leclerc’s Qualifying Perspective

Following the practice sessions, Leclerc, who is set to start third on the grid at the Hungaroring, commented on the qualifying session. He noted a significant wind change during the day and felt his car setup did not adequately anticipate it. Leclerc described qualifying as “quite messy” and mentioned an element of bad luck in Q2 due to a yellow flag in the final sector.

Leclerc indicated that his pace was not at the same level as Hamilton’s, and his focus was on maximising his performance for the day. He expressed that he felt he had achieved this goal.

Qualifying is scheduled to take place later today.

Source: formula1.com