The 14th round of the Formula 1 World Championship, taking place at the Hungaroring in Budapest, is getting into full swing. With only an hour of free practice left before qualifying, the teams took advantage of the FP3 to refine the set-ups. We are in sight of a circuit notoriously difficult to overtake, where starting in the front rows can make the difference.
After a Friday dominated by Lando Norris, with McLaren the absolute protagonist and Red Bull in trouble, FP3 confirmed the competitiveness of the Woking cars, but with a new protagonist in front of everyone: Oscar piastri.
McLaren still ahead, but Piastri outwits Norris
Piastri set the fastest time in 1'14 "916, three tenths faster than last year's benchmark set by Norris, ahead of his teammate by just 32 thousandthsA paltry margin, a sign that the internal battle for pole at McLaren will be extremely close.
Charles Leclerc took Ferrari to third place, almost four tenths behind the Australian, confirming what we saw yesterday: the reds are competitive, but they seem destined to fight more for the second row than for the top spot.
Hamilton on the rise, Red Bull through ups and downs
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, thanks to a revised setup after Friday's difficulties. Youngsters Antonelli and Bortoleto also performed well, both finishing in the top 10.
Red Bull, on the other hand, had a two-faced session: Verstappen was initially competitive with the soft tyres, but struggled when the track temperature reached almost 50 ° C. A mistake on the last attempt relegated him to the 12 th, while the RB21 still showed balance and understeer problems.
Mixed strategies and an ever-evolving track
At the start of the session, McLaren opted for a long-term run on hard tyres, an unusual choice for the team. Aston Martin, on the other hand, worked on mediums, while Franco Colapinto was the first to mount the soft C5s, immediately launching into qualifying simulations. With the track rubbering up quickly, everyone then switched to the soft tyres to simulate Q3, but traffic – inevitable on a short circuit like the Hungaroring – made it difficult to find clean laps.
Ferrari solid, compact group center
In addition to McLaren and Ferrari, Kick Sauber and Aston Martin also stood out, with both cars in the top 10. In the midfield, the gaps are minimal: just over three tenths of a second separates Hamilton in fourth and Hulkenberg in tenth.
FP3 Final Standings – Hungarian GP
Here is the FP3 finish line in Hungary:
With a minimal gap between the two McLaren drivers and a Ferrari ready to join in, this afternoon's qualifying promises to be a rollercoaster ride. The impression is that pole position is a two-horse race between Piastri and Norris, but in Budapest, precision on the flying lap will be decisive: a small mistake is enough to slip from the front row to the middle of the pack.
