14:03
Good afternoon!
Good afternoon and welcome back to Hungary for qualifying! Pole could genuinely be taken by any of six or seven drivers, so prepare for a thriller of a session!
Antonelli chases Ocon in Hungary
© XPB Images
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F1 Hungary LIVE: Qualifying updates as tense pole fight looms
Live coverage of Friday at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Aston Martin suffers reliability woe after major upgrade
- Ferrari fastest in both Friday sessions
- Mercedes searching for pace after tough Friday
The tenth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
A modern classic, the Hungaroring is often described as Monaco without the walls, due to its tight and twisty nature.
As the championship reaches the summer shutdown, all eyes are on Aston Martin, with the team bringing a significant 16-part upgrade. While the pace on Friday was a marked improvement, a suspension failure in FP1 for Lance Stroll ruled him out of the afternoon running.
McLaren debuted its 'Macarena wing' with rookie Leonardo Fornaroli in FP1, but the part will not feature fully until after the summer break.
Max Verstappen showed strong pace for Red Bull, but Mercedes struggled throughout the day, with George Russell over seven-tenths off the pace and Kimi Antonelli in 13th place. The Silver Arrows will hope to have performed wonders overnight to turn around its fortunes for a vital qualifying session.
2026 Hungarian Grand Prix Saturday schedule
FP3: 11:30am BST - 12:30pm BST
Qualifying: 3:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
25 Jul 2026
14:10
Mercedes chief makes Lewis Hamilton F1 title admission
Mercedes chief makes Lewis Hamilton F1 title admission
Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta has admitted that Lewis Hamilton being involved in the Formula 1 title race “makes the sport better”.
Former Mercedes driver Hamilton has been in resurgent form during his second F1 season with Ferrari and currently sits second in the world championship, 45 points behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli and five clear of George Russell.
Hamilton is 45 points behind Antonelli
13:45
An Audi Q3, there's a chance.
13:29
Talking of trends that seem to be continuing, it's unlikely that a funky deployment is to blame for Russell's struggles this weekend. You always want a strong result heading into the summer, and the Briton has his work cut out to achieve that.
13:27
Alpine has dropped back in recent weeks, and the trend continued in FP3. But both Gasly and Colapinto have been more than capable of overturning that in qualifying, so maybe don't rule them out of Q3 just yet.
12:49
2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix - Final Practice Results
2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix - Final Practice Results
Lando Norris topped final practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of qualifying.
After Ferrari led the way in both Friday sessions, Norris and McLaren fired back in the final practice session, with Norris the first driver this weekend to dip below the 78-second marker.
Hadjar in Hungary
© XPB Images
12:40
Ferrari up there
Make no mistake. Ferrari may have been bettered in FP3, but you cannot rule the Scuderia out of taking pole position this afternoon.
12:37
McLaren enjoyed a positive session, to put it mildly!
12:36
Lando Norris edges Lewis Hamilton in final Hungary F1 practice as McLaren hits back
Lando Norris edges Lewis Hamilton in final Hungary F1 practice as McLaren hits back
Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris edged Lewis Hamilton to the fastest time as McLaren struck back against Ferrari in final practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari dominated proceedings throughout Friday’s first two practice sessions but it was Norris who emerged as the driver to beat in the final hour of running before qualifying at the Hungaroring.
Norris led the way in final practice at the Hungaroring
12:32
Top 10 in FP3
The top 10 as FP3 comes to a close are:
- Norris
- Hamilton
- Antonelli
- Leclerc
- Piastri
- Russell
- Verstappen
- Hadjar
- Lawson
- Hulkenberg
12:31
Hadjar improves to P8. Lindblad is the only other driver improving, and he goes to P13.
12:30
Chequered flag
The flag has fallen and the final times are coming.
12:28
Completing his first lap, Lindblad goes to P14, which is not to be sniffed at given his lack of track time.
12:26
Lindblad makes it out onto the track. That's a mega effort from Racing Bulls to get him out there for a soft tyre run.
12:23
Russell does not have the pace today. 0.602s off the pace with his best effort, this is unlikely to be his weekend.
12:22
On an old tyre, Norris goes faster than Hamilton! A 1m17.939s is the best time of the weekend, and we look set for an incredible battle in qualifying.
12:21
P1 for Hamilton! A 1m18.056s to return him to the top.
12:20
Third place for Leclerc. Here comes Hamilton.
12:20
After Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull showed their hands, here comes Ferrari with an answer.
12:18
Alonso goes P11 for Aston Martin. Could he make a Q2 appearance for the first time this year?
12:17
Norris is purple in sector one, in sector two, and goes fastest! Game on as the track ramps up. Norris puts in a 1m18.206s.
Verstappen was on a strong lap and improves, but is only P4. The Ferrari drivers are now P5 and P6, but remain in the pits.
12:16
But there's Antonelli. Has the F1 championship leader finally arrived to the party? A 1m18.254s moves him to the top!
Piastri goes purple in the final sector, and climbs to P2, although 0.210s back on the Mercedes driver.
12:15
Ferrari strong
Ferrari look strong still, but here come the next low fuel runs.
12:11
How Perez's session came to an end a short while ago.
12:10
A yellow flag in the pit lane. Unclear why right now.