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Lando Norris denied Ferrari a sweep of all three practice sessions for the Hungarian Grand Prix, setting the fastest time of the weekend so far in his McLaren.
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With the soft tyres surprisingly proving resilient enough to yield two competitive times, Norris lowered the benchmark to a 1’17.939. That ensured he came out on top after a spate of runs by the drivers from the leading teams.
Norris displaced Lewis Hamilton from the top of the times by a tenth of a second, the Ferrari driver enjoying a strong run through the final sector. There was almost nothing to choose between him and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in third.
Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari fourth while Oscar Piastri and George Russell were each almost half a second slower than their respective team mates.
The Red Bull drivers did not look especially happy with their cars, Isack Hadjar branding his “undriveable” after a mistake at turn 12. Max Verstappen was the quickest of the pair, albeit seven-tenths of a second off Norris.
Liam Lawson took ninth for Racing Bulls but his team mate Arvid Lindblad missed most of the session with a technical problem. He emerged from the pits just in time for a single flying run. The Audi drivers completed the top half of the field.
Sergio Perez failed to set a time as he came to a stop immediately after leaving the pits. The Cadillac driver’s rear brakes were smoking alarmingly, prompting race control to red-flag the session.
Without that, the Williams drivers might have ended the session slowest of all. Valtteri Bottas outpaced his former team’s drivers and the upgraded Aston Martins were ahead of all four.
Fernando Alonso ended practice just under two-and-a-half seconds off the pace, but set his time early in the session, indicating there could be more pace in the heavily revised AMR26. The team had a fright early in the session, however, when Alonso caught his team mate at turn 12, who did not seem to realise he was there, provoking a worrying near-miss.
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2026 Hungarian Grand Prix third practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’17.939 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’18.056 | 0.117 |
| 3 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W17 | 1’18.068 | 0.129 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’18.291 | 0.352 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’18.438 | 0.499 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W17 | 1’18.541 | 0.602 |
| 7 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’18.656 | 0.717 |
| 8 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’18.943 | 1.004 |
| 9 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’19.088 | 1.149 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | R26 | 1’19.160 | 1.221 |
| 11 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | R26 | 1’19.338 | 1.399 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’19.723 | 1.784 |
| 13 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’19.895 | 1.956 |
| 14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’20.055 | 2.116 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’20.295 | 2.356 |
| 16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’20.312 | 2.373 |
| 17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’20.393 | 2.454 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’20.933 | 2.994 |
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’21.299 | 3.360 |
| 20 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’21.406 | 3.467 |
| 21 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’21.513 | 3.574 |
| 22 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | No time |
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2026 Hungarian Grand Prix
- Norris heads Hamilton in final practice at the Hungaring
- Hamilton keeps Ferrari on top in Hungary after Colapinto crashes
- Sainz warned, Verstappen cleared over impeding incident during practice
- Leclerc comfortably fastest before car problem halts him at Hungaroring
- F1 drivers have “no control” over engine deployment – Piastri
Browse all 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix articles
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