Hungary FP3: Norris leads Hamilton and Antonelli in final practice

By Aditya Rao — 25 July 2026 — 3 min read

Norris sets the pace in Hungary

Lando Norris of McLaren secured the fastest time in the third practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix. His best lap of 1m 17.939s at the Hungaroring placed him ahead of Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. The session saw close competition among McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes as teams prepared for qualifying.

The practice session began at 12:30 local time. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto was among the first drivers on track, aiming to recover from a Friday incident where he went wide at the final corner, causing car damage. Lance Stroll also participated early, having missed FP2 and spun out of FP1 due to a suspension issue. He sought to understand the updated Aston Martin alongside teammate Fernando Alonso.

Early in the session, Norris initially led with a 1m 19.062s lap on soft tyres. However, the session was interrupted when Sergio Perez stopped on the track near Turn 2, bringing out red flags. The Cadillac driver reported losing his engine and experiencing brake issues.

Session interruptions and driver performances

After the track was cleared, FP3 resumed at 12:56, providing drivers with just over 30 minutes to complete their practice programmes. Antonelli, George Russell, and Max Verstappen joined the session at this point. Antonelli initially placed sixth but had his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.

The leaderboard saw changes as Hamilton posted a 1m 19.053s, followed by his teammate Charles Leclerc with a 1m 18.668s. Antonelli then positioned himself between the two Ferrari drivers, though he later requested a check of his car’s floor after hitting the Turn 4 kerb. The Mercedes driver also communicated a lack of grip to his engineer during the session.

In the final 15 minutes, Antonelli briefly took the lead with a 1m 18.254s. However, Norris, driving an upgraded McLaren, reclaimed the top spot with a 1m 18.206s. Hamilton then improved his time to 1m 18.056s, but Norris further lowered the benchmark to 1m 17.939s, avoiding a slide through the final corner.

Antonelli finished third, ahead of Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Russell secured sixth place, while Red Bull’s Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were seventh and eighth, respectively. Hadjar described his car as “undriveable” late in the session. Liam Lawson achieved an encouraging ninth position for Racing Bulls.

Aston Martin’s progress and other notable mentions

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso made it through to Q2 in qualifying, ending a series of 10 consecutive Q1 eliminations. This progress suggests that the team’s upgrades are having a positive effect. Alonso was the first driver to set a lap time in qualifying, and his team is hopeful that this marks a turning point in their season, aiming to compete in the midfield.

Other drivers in the practice session included Audis’ Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Colapinto. Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman were also present, along with Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. The Williams team is expecting a significant upgrade for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September.

Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls machine experienced an apparent power unit issue, with the team having worked overnight to address a similar problem on Lawson’s car. Lindblad eventually made it out in the closing stages of the session.

Source: formula1.com