Hungarian Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc fastest as Lance Stroll spins out
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the opening practice at the Hungaroring, while Lance Stroll's debut of Aston Martin's revised car ended in a spin.
Hungarian Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc fastest as Lance Stroll spins out
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc topped the opening practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, though technical trouble ended his day prematurely. The Monégasque driver set a benchmark of 1m19.075s, leaving Red Bull's Max Verstappen and teammate Lewis Hamilton trailing by roughly half a second.
Leclerc's session ended seven minutes early when he reported something broke
on his SF-26 car. After a suspected power unit or gearbox failure in the final sector, he coasted into the pits with a smoking vehicle. Despite the early exit, his time remained the fastest during the final 14 minutes of green-flag running.
The session was marked by significant technical volatility, most notably for Aston Martin. The team introduced a heavily revised AMR26 B-spec car featuring 16 separate aerodynamic updates, a lighter chassis, and a new rear suspension layout. The debut was short-lived for Lance Stroll; after 11 laps, a suspected rear suspension failure on the exit of Turn 2 caused a 360-degree spin. The incident brought out a red flag as Stroll parked his car, though he avoided the barriers.
Fernando Alonso provided a more stable assessment of the B-spec updates. He completed 20 laps and finished 13th fastest with a time of 1m21.550s. While this was 2.4 seconds behind Leclerc, it represented a narrow gap compared to the three-to-four-second deficit Aston Martin has faced in recent qualifying sessions.
Performance and Technical Updates
Teams brought various Hungary-specific modifications to the Hungaroring, focusing on high downforce. Ferrari utilized a Macarena
wing featuring a three-piece winglet on the actuator. McLaren introduced a wholesale floor revision for the MCL40 to improve cornering performance. This was trialed by reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli, who used a version of Ferrari's upside-down rear wing that his engineer reported was working well
.
The track surface also presented challenges. Turn 1 was completely resurfaced for the year and lacked surface level grip, leading to lock-ups from several drivers, including George Russell and Max Verstappen. Verstappen further expressed frustration with his Red Bull RB22, claiming it felt as if he were driving with a handbrake on.
Lewis Hamilton, who finished third, reported issues with his gear shifts, stating:
"Something is wrong with the upshifts, and downshifts. Like downgraded upshifts and downshifts all the time."
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari driver, via TSN
Rookie Sessions and Stewards' Inquiries
In accordance with mandatory rookie sessions, several young drivers took to the track:
- Frederik Vesti took over Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes to finish seventh.
- Leonardo Fornaroli finished 16th in Oscar Piastri's McLaren.
- Ryo Hirakawa placed 17th in the Haas.
- Paul Aron finished 19th in Franco Colapinto's Alpine.
- Colton Herta finished 20th in the Cadillac.
The session concluded with Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen summoned to the stewards' office. Both were charged with driving erratically following an incident where Sainz impeded Verstappen at Turn 12, after which Verstappen appeared to slow in front of the Williams driver. Sainz faces further questioning regarding a second alleged incident involving Paul Aron at Turn 9.
Practice Standings
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m19.075s |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m19.559s |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | — |
| 4 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | — |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | , |
The weekend continues with second practice scheduled for 4pm on Friday, July 24. Qualifying is set for Saturday, July 25, at 3pm, leading into the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, July 26, at 2pm.
