Lewis Hamilton edged his team-mate Charles Leclerc to the fastest time in second practice as Ferrari dominated the first day of running at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
After Leclerc had comfortably topped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Hamilton in Friday’s opening session, the seven-time world champion found major improvement later in the day to turn a half-second deficit into a 0.158s advantage over his team-mate.
The nearest challenger to Ferrari in the more representative second session was McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was just short of half a second back from Hamilton in third.
While Ferrari’s pace at the Hungaroring – a circuit many had assumed would suit their car – came as little surprise, the Italian team will be further buoyed by the unexpected struggles of championship leader Kimi Antonelli and his Mercedes team.
Having sat out the first session as Mercedes fulfilled one of their obligated rookie driver sessions, Antonelli struggled badly on his return to action as he repeatedly ran off track amid rear locking issues.
The 19-year-old Italian, who leads Hamilton by 45 points at the top of the standings, was only 13th, while his team-mate George Russell was almost a full second back from the lead time in fifth despite completing a flying lap on fresh soft tyres.
Verstappen was almost seven tenths off the pace in fourth, with his Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar behind Russell in sixth.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who also sat out the first session, was a disappointing eighth as he was outpaced by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
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Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll avoids the barrier after failure leaves him stranded on track, triggering a red flag in P1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix
While Mercedes, along with McLaren and Red Bull, have time to make gains on Ferrari ahead of final practice at 11.30am on Saturday, the Italian team have established themselves as clear favourites for one of the season’s most crucial qualifying sessions, which follows at 3pm, live on Sky Sports F1.
The session was interrupted by a red flag for almost 10 minutes when Franco Colapinto heavily crashed his Alpine on entry to the final corner.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll didn’t feature after his suspension broke in first practice, with the team’s woeful season continuing as their unveiling of a 16-part upgrade package was overshadowed by the incident.
Fernando Alonso was unable to deliver any notable improvement in their one working car in second practice, as he finished between the two cars of 2026 newcomers Cadillac in 19th, almost three seconds off the pace.
Sky Sports F1’s Hungarian GP schedule
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The first lap of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix saw several drivers crash into one another
Saturday July 25
9am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Hungarian GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint*
2.15pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: HUNGARIAN GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday July 26
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: Porsche Supercup
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Hungarian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Hungarian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
5pm: Ted’s Notebook*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 heads straight to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix with every session live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
