Max fourth after first day in Budapest: 'It was a difficult day'

Published on 24 July 2026 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen finished fourth in the second free practice session ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. At the Hungaroring, Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets for Ferrari, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in second. Lando Norris was third for McLaren, while Verstappen and Mercedes driver George Russell completed the top five. Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Isack Hadjar finished sixth.

After the second free practice session, Max says: "It was a difficult day. It was difficult to find a good balance in the car. We need to make the car more consistent on a lap, and make that work on the long runs as well. So there's still some work to do for tomorrow."

At the start of the session, conditions are partly cloudy with an ambient temperature of 23°C, making for pleasant conditions at the Hungaroring. Shortly after the green light, Aston Martin confirms that Lance Stroll will not take part in the second free practice session after retiring from FP1 earlier in the day with a broken rear suspension. The team does not have enough time to repair the damage before the session.

After a few minutes, the Ferrari drivers top the timesheets while Max stays in the pits. When Verstappen heads out, he does so on the medium tyres, just like the majority of the field. His first flying lap puts him third, with Hadjar soon slotting in behind him in fourth. The gap to the Ferraris is a sizeable seven tenths, although Verstappen later chips a few tenths away from the deficit. Despite the improvement, he remains third.

Max returns to the pits and climbs out of the car, suggesting it may be some time before he heads back out onto the circuit. Aston Martin, meanwhile, appears to have taken a step forward after bringing a major upgrade package to Hungary this weekend. Fernando Alonso looks capable of matching the pace of the Haas and Cadillac drivers.

Meanwhile, Max climbs back into his Red Bull, signalling that he will soon return to the track. After twenty minutes, he does exactly that on a fresh set of soft tyres. By then, Lando Norris has already begun his qualifying simulation. The reigning World Champion puts his McLaren at the top of the timesheets, before Max slots into second, just under two tenths behind the Brit.

Max then reports over the team radio that he is struggling with his seating position. Moments later, Franco Colapinto brings out the red flags after losing the rear of his Alpine through the final corner and crashing backwards into the tyre barriers. With the clock continuing to run, valuable track time is lost.

With 26 minutes remaining, the session resumes and the drivers complete their qualifying simulations. Once everyone has finished those runs, both Ferraris have moved to the top of the timesheets, locking out the first two positions. Norris and Verstappen follow in P3 and P4.

As the final twenty minutes begin, Verstappen switches to a high-fuel race simulation on the medium tyres. The Dutchman soon reports that he has driven over something that struck his front wing and asks the team to monitor it. Gianpiero Lambiase later confirms that no damage has been found.

Like Red Bull Racing, the other teams also focus on race simulations during the closing stages. With no further improvements on the timesheets, the opening day of the Hungarian Grand Prix comes to an end.

Results second free practice Hungary: