Lando Norris Pips Lewis Hamilton to Top Spot in Hungarian GP FP3

Norris breaks Ferrari’s grip on Budapest practice

Lando Norris ended Ferrari’s control of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in FP3 at the Hungaroring. The McLaren driver resisted a late challenge from Lewis Hamilton to take top spot by roughly a tenth of a second, putting three constructors into a closely matched fight ahead of qualifying.

Hamilton’s Ferrari was second, while Kimi Antonelli delivered a much stronger session for Mercedes after a difficult FP2. Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes filled the top six positions, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar following behind. The result sharpened the competitive picture outlined in the latest Hungarian Grand Prix preview, with Norris providing the clearest late warning to his rivals.

A disrupted opening hour

FP3 began quietly, with Franco Colapinto taking the circuit alone for the opening minutes as he looked to recover running lost during Friday. Lance Stroll joined shortly afterwards, also seeking to make up for his absence from the final hour of Friday practice.

Arvid Lindblad’s VCARB 03 remained on its jacks while Racing Bulls carried out a precautionary power-unit change. The team expected Lindblad to run later in the session.

Oscar Piastri was the first leading driver to set a representative time, posting a 1:19.918 on soft tyres. Norris soon lowered the benchmark to 1:19.062, before Sergio Perez’s Cadillac failure brought out the red flag. Perez kept the car out of the wall before stopping around the outside of Turn 2.

Charles Leclerc briefly moved Ferrari to the front after the restart, then established a stronger benchmark of 1:18.668 as the session entered its second half.

Late soft-tyre fight

Antonelli initially lost a lap to track limits, but recovered decisively to take more than four tenths from Leclerc’s time. Piastri moved into second, before Norris again responded, taking half a tenth from Antonelli.

Ferrari returned to the track with fresh soft tyres inside the final 10 minutes. Hamilton produced a 1:18.056, but Norris still had more to give, becoming the first driver of the weekend to break into the 1:17s. Leclerc ended fourth, three-tenths off the pace, while George Russell struggled to match his Mercedes team-mate and finished more than half a second adrift.

Further down the order, Liam Lawson continued his strong weekend in the fight with Audi, while Aston Martin placed Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll in P17 and P18, ahead of Williams and the two Cadillacs.