Max second in Hungary FP1

Published on 24 July 2026 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen clocked the second fastest time in the opening practice session of Hungarian Grand Prix. Charles Leclercl lapped the Hungaroring quickest. His Ferrari team mate, Lewis Hamilton completed the top three ahead of Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Isack Hadjar and Mercedes’ George Russell.

FP1 features several rookies with Paul Aron driving Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, Leonardo Fornaroli occupying Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, Frederik Vesti in Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes and Ryo Hirakawa steering Ollie Bearman’s Haas.

Subsequently, Haas are the first team out of the garage with Haas regular Esteban Ocon joining Hirakawa on track. Ten minutes in, most drivers have lapped the Hungaroring with Max quickest. His best effort was clocked on the medium Pirelli tyres.

Nevertheless, the Dutchman is not too pleased with his RB22. “The downshifts are awful and the car bounces around like crazy”, says the four-time champ who promptly returns to the pits to make set-up changes.

At the halfway point, Max heads out on a set of soft tyres. Via one green and two purple sectors, Max regains the top spot on the timing sheets. The Red Bull Racer leads second placed George Russell by over half a second.

Max cannot enjoy P1 for long; Charles Leclerc has upped his pace on the softs and goes quickest by almost five tenths of a second. Team mate Hamilton also tries to jump Max in the pecking order but has to settle for third.

With twenty minutes remaining, Lance Stroll causes the only red flag of the session following a suspension failure on his heavily revised Aston Martin. The session is soon resumed once the stricken Aston is moved behind the barriers.

During the final quarter, the lap times are not bettered, meaning Leclerc is quickest head of Max and Hamilton. The Monegasque did appear to have an issue with a few minutes left on the clock, forcing him to drive his Ferrari back to the pits.

Results first free practice Hungary: