Leclerc fastest but suffers breakdown
Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, clocking 1:19.075 on soft tyres. He had been fastest on medium and hard compounds earlier. Leclerc was 0.484 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and 0.543s clear of Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, the most successful driver at the Hungaroring with nine poles and eight wins, who finished third. However, Leclerc's session ended seven minutes early when he reported that 'something broke' on his SF-26 and he stopped in the pit lane. He was the only driver to lap under 1m20. Replays showed lights flashing on his steering wheel as he approached the Turn 13 hairpin before losing speed. He completed only 19 laps, the second-lowest tally. Ferrari has not yet confirmed the cause.[S1][S3][S4][S5][S6]
Aston Martin, which had been at the back of the field all season, introduced its first major upgrade of the year with 16 revised parts for this race. However, Lance Stroll's car suffered a suspected rear suspension failure after just 11 laps, causing a spin and a red flag. The left rear suspension appeared to break as he exited Turn Three, and he avoided contact with the barriers. Team-mate Fernando Alonso, told to avoid kerbs, completed the session, finishing 13th fastest, 2.475 seconds off Leclerc's pace. That is a significant improvement from being around four seconds off in recent races, though Alonso reported vibrations. The team will investigate the failure before second practice at 4pm.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6]
Top ten and rookie stand-ins
Isack Hadjar was fourth for Red Bull, 0.922s off Leclerc's pace, followed by George Russell in fifth, nearly a second slower. Russell was the last driver within a second of Leclerc. However, the order was difficult to read due to differing run plans and rookie stand-ins. Russell's Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli sat out, with Frederik Vesti standing in and finishing seventh, 0.4s behind Russell, on medium tyres. Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto was sixth, 1.285s off the pace, a quarter of a second ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, who took eighth. Racing Bulls drivers Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the top ten in ninth and tenth.[S1][S3][S4][S5][S6]
McLaren's Lando Norris ended up 11th, debuting the team's upgraded MCL40. Fornaroli was the only rookie inside the top 20, finishing 16th for McLaren as the fastest rookie. Ryo Hirakawa took 17th for Haas, Paul Aron 19th for Alpine, and Colton Herta 20th for Cadillac. Stroll, after his early exit, finished 21st with a best time on hard tyres, 4.396s off the pace. Carlos Sainz was slowest of all after a session that included a massive lock-up at Turn 1, radio issues, and two allegations of erratic driving, as well as a black and white flag for impeding after the chequered flag.[S1][S3][S5][S6]
Verstappen and Sainz face stewards
Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz have been summoned to the stewards after an incident early in the session in which both were noted for erratic driving. Sainz initially got in Verstappen's way into Turn 12, prompting Verstappen to complain on the radio: 'Unbelievable these guys... that was actually really dangerous, like he even slammed on the brakes.' Verstappen then appeared to retaliate by braking in front of Sainz through the corner. Sainz also faced a second allegation of erratic driving involving Alpine's Paul Aron at Turn Nine, and suffered a major lock-up at Turn 1 later in the session.[S3][S4][S5][S6]
