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Charles Leclerc was quickest in the first practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but the Ferrari driver wasn’t running when the chequered flag fell.
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His SF-26 rolled slowly into the pit lane after suffering a systems failure at the end of the lap. Leclerc’s smoking car came to a rest at the weigh bridge where Ferrari mechanics came to his rescue. “Something broke,” he told his team.
Earlier, Leclerc easily saw off Max Verstappen to head the practice session by almost half a second. The lap times fell rapidly as the dusty circuit cleaned up over the course of the one-hour session, but Leclerc’s 1’19.075 remained the benchmark, three seconds off the fastest lap in the same session 12 months ago.
Their team mates came next, Lewis Hamilton ahead of Isack Hadjar, but the second Ferrari driver seemed less happy in his car. Hamilton complained about problems with his gearshifts and felt the car was set too stiff.
George Russell spoiled his first run on soft tyres when he locked up heavily at turn one. The bumpy approach to the first corner made it a challenge for several drivers. He ended up fifth, four tenths of a second ahead of Frederik Vesti, who drove Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s car for this session.
Four other teams used the opportunity of the last race before the summer break to satisfy their obligation to run an inexperienced driver. Leonardi Fornaroli returned in Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, Ryo Hirakawa made another appearance for Haas, Paul Aron returned to Alpine having also driven for them last year and Colton Herta had his second run for Cadillac.
Strong performances by the Audi and Racing Bulls drivers meant both McLarens ended the session outside the top 10. Lando Norris was almost two seconds off the pace in 11th.
Aston Martin’s long-awaited upgrade arrived to mixed results. Fernando Alonso put his car a promising 13th, but Lance Stroll suffered an apparent left-rear suspension failure in turn three and spun dramatically, triggering the only red flag of the session.
Verstappen was frustrated to encounter Carlos Sainz Jnr on the racing line approaching turn 10 early in the session. He claimed the Williams driver “slammed on the brakes” then appeared to delay his rival at the exit of the corner. The stewards summoned both drivers over the incident and Sainz was called a second time for the same offence of “alleged erratic driving”, and shown the black-and-white flag after the session ended.
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2026 Hungarian Grand Prix first practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’19.075 | |
| 2 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’19.559 | 0.484 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’19.618 | 0.543 |
| 4 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’19.997 | 0.922 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W17 | 1’20.066 | 0.991 |
| 6 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | R26 | 1’20.360 | 1.285 |
| 7 | 72 | Frederik Vesti | Mercedes | W17 | 1’20.467 | 1.392 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | R26 | 1’20.623 | 1.548 |
| 9 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’20.760 | 1.685 |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’20.866 | 1.791 |
| 11 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’21.024 | 1.949 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’21.051 | 1.976 |
| 13 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’21.550 | 2.475 |
| 14 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’21.704 | 2.629 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’21.819 | 2.744 |
| 16 | 67 | Leonardo Fornaroli | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’21.890 | 2.815 |
| 17 | 50 | Ryo Hirakawa | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’22.001 | 2.926 |
| 18 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’22.089 | 3.014 |
| 19 | 61 | Paul Aron | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’22.168 | 3.093 |
| 20 | 25 | Colton Herta | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’23.118 | 4.043 |
| 21 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’23.471 | 4.396 |
| 22 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’23.734 | 4.659 |
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