Hungarian GP: Oscar Piastri edges out Lando Norris in Practice Three as Max Verstappen struggles ahead of qualifying
Oscar Piastri edged out team-mate Lando Norris to top final practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix as the battle between the McLaren duo ramped up ahead of qualifying.
Having finished second to Norris in both of Friday’s sessions, world championship leader Piastri turned the tables on his team-mate to strike the first blow on Saturday by a margin of just three hundredths of a second.
In what is fast becoming a two-horse race for the drivers’ title between the McLaren pair, Piastri holds a 16-point lead over Norris going into the final race before the summer break on Sunday.
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Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were pushing their McLaren to the extreme during second practice on Friday.
Piastri’s time of 1:14.916 was more than three tenths quicker than Norris’ pole effort in Budapest last year, highlighting the incredible level of performance the runaway Constructors’ Championship leaders are consistently producing in 2025.
Ferrari were the best of the rest as Charles Leclerc finished four tenths behind Piastri in third. Lewis Hamilton took fourth but remained significantly off the pace of his team-mate with three tenths separating them.
Max Verstappen’s pursuit of a fifth successive world championship looks set to suffer another blow as a tough weekend for Red Bull appeared to worsen with the Dutchman only 12th and his struggling team-mate Yuki Tsunoda 19th.
Verstappen, who finally confirmed on Thursday that he intends to stay at Red Bull for the 2026 season, already trails Piastri by 81 points in the drivers’ standings.
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Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated with the performance of his Ferrari on Friday.
Kimi Antonelli took fifth to outperform his Mercedes team-mate George Russell in eighth, with the Brit surprisingly trailing Aston Martin duo Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10 as the in-form squad appeared well placed to extend a streak of five successive grand prix weekends at which they’ve scored points.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment of the session came when Isack Hadjar narrowly avoided a shunt with the barrier as the Racing Bulls driver just about got his car back under control after spinning in the final sector.
Red Bull have often struggled in practice before Verstappen has found remarkable improvement in qualifying, but team principal Laurent Mekies – overseeing just his second race since replacing Christian Horner – admitted his squad are up against it.
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Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar had a massive spin during P3 at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In a post-session interview, Mekies told Sky Sports F1: “We have been struggling since yesterday. It’s been very difficult to put the car in the right window to give Max and Yuki the right feeling.
“We have tried a number of things to turn the car around but I have to say, it’s the same sort of feeling today and [we are] not finding the grip overall.
“Uncomfortable but the sort of situation where you learn some things, so we are trying to do quite a few tests to understand where the limitations are.”
Red Bull’s struggles – if they persist – will ultimately be something of a sideshow as Piastri and Norris share another battle, which the lack of margin between them means will likely come down to which driver is able to deliver the cleanest lap come the closing stages of Q3.
Hungarian GP Practice Three Timesheet
Driver
Team
Time
1) Oscar Piastri
McLaren
1:14.916
2) Lando Norris
McLaren
+0.032
3) Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+0.399
4) Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
+0.768
5) Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
+0.829
6) Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
+0.878
7) Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
+0.912
8) George Russell
Mercedes
+0.924
9) Gabriel Bortoleto
Sauber
+1.062
10) Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber
+1.109
11) Oliver Bearman
Haas
+1.211
12) Max Verstappen
Red Bull
+1.246
13) Franco Colapinto
Alpine
+1.331
14) Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
+1.455
15) Carlos Sainz
Williams
+1.526
16) Alex Albon
Williams
+1.614
17) Esteban Ocon
Haas
+1.615
18) Pierre Gasly
Alpine
+1.654
19) Yuki Tsunoda
Red Bull
+1.962
20) Isack Hadjar
Racing Bulls
+2.040
Sky Sports F1’s Hungarian GP Schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the Hungarian Grand Prix
Saturday August 2
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying*
Sunday August 3
7.25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Hungarian GP build-up*
2pm: The HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Hungarian GP reaction
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Budapest at the Hungarian Grand Prix for the final race before the sport’s summer break, watch live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. For Sky customers, Sky Sports F1 is now found on channel 407. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
