NORRIS TAKES CONTROL IN FP3 AS FERRARI FACES QUALIFYING CHALLENGE IN HUNGARY
Lando Norris ended Ferrari’s Friday dominance at the Hungarian Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in the final practice session at the Hungaroring. The McLaren driver confirmed the strong pace shown by his team in recent races and enters qualifying as one of the main contenders for pole position.
Ferrari remains competitive after a strong Friday, but the gap to its rivals has become much smaller. Lewis Hamilton finished second, just 117 thousandths behind Norris, while Kimi Antonelli placed third with the Mercedes, although the Italian was not completely satisfied with the balance of his car.
Charles Leclerc ended the session in fourth position, 357 thousandths away from the fastest lap. The Ferrari driver made some mistakes during his final qualifying simulations, but the SF-26 still appears to be one of the strongest cars heading into Saturday afternoon.
Oscar Piastri completed the top five ahead of George Russell, who continues to struggle to find the same level of performance as his Mercedes teammate. Max Verstappen finished seventh after another difficult session for Red Bull, with the Dutchman reporting problems with the car’s balance around the technical Hungaroring layout.
The session was also affected by a few interruptions. Arvid Lindblad was forced to stop his Racing Bulls due to a power unit issue, while Cadillac’s Sergio Perez brought out the first red flag after parking his car in the run-off area at Turn 2.
Temperatures were much higher compared to Friday, with track temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. This made tyre management a key factor, especially during the soft tyre qualifying simulations.
Ferrari initially looked strong, with Leclerc and Hamilton trading the top positions during the first part of the session. The two SF-26 cars also completed short race simulations, with Leclerc showing slightly stronger pace compared to his teammate.
However, once the teams switched to fresh soft tyres, the order changed. Antonelli briefly moved to the top of the timesheets before Norris responded with a lap that put him ahead of the Mercedes driver. Hamilton then improved to take first place temporarily, but Norris returned to the top shortly after with a lap 117 thousandths faster.
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