Max third in last free practice in Hungary

Published on 20 July 2024 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen has finished third in the last free practice before the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix. With a fastest time of 1:16.379, the reigning world champion finished the session with an almost three-tenths gap to Lando Norris, who came first. Max drove a different program to the other drivers at the start of training, driving a long stint on the hard tyres. 

The third free training for the Hungarian Grand Prix starts with cooler conditions than what the Hungarian landscape has offered so far. It's a cloudy day with a slight chance of rain later on. Both Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers elect to take to the track early. Usually the top teams wait until the track has seen some action, but this time Max emerges from the pits within five minutes of the start of training on a set of hard tyres. In his first flying lap he sets a 1:18.8 time. He continues to improve on his time lap after lap, unobstructed by any other cars. After 15 minutes he's joined by his fellow grid members, and the practice session gets underway. 

As opposed to Max, most drivers emerge on the soft tyre. Alexander Albon sets the fastest time on softs, but has to relinquish the crown to Lando Norris moments later. Only George Russell manages to surpass Norris this session. With a 1:16.8 time, he is a tenth faster than the McLaren driver and four-tenths faster than number three, Carlos Sainz. Max is still driving long runs on the hard tyre, running a different simulation to the rest of the grid. 

With just 15 minutes on the clock, the times are coming faster and sharper. Norris sets a 1:16.0, claiming the fastest time once again. Teammate Oscar Piastri improves and takes second place, 44-thousandths behind number one. Max, with just twelve minutes time left on the clock, switches to softs. In his first lap he goes third, three-tenths behind P1. With just five minutes on the clock, a yellow flag is waved; Lewis Hamilton spun in his Mercedes, but is soon underway once more. In the last minute, Max makes one more attempt at a fast lap, but gets blocked into turn 3, meaning he closes the session in third, behind Norris and Piastri. 

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Results third free practice Hungary: