Lando Norris topped both practice sessions from Oscar Piastri, with Charles Leclerc third twice for a consistent Ferrari.<\/p>\n
By the end of the day the Monegasque was almost 0.4 seconds off the pace, but even this margin might be slightly flattering. Even in race trim, when the field should be condensed, McLaren looked comfortably forward of the pack.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753528389_190_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
It means the sport is set for what looked like the most likely outcome before the weekend started: a straight shootout between the championship contenders.<\/p>\n
PIT TALK PODCAST: Can Oscar Piastri head into the midseason break on a high in Hungary? Listen to Pit Talk below.<\/p>\n
NORRIS AND PIASTRI RUE SCRAPPY LAPS IN INTRATEAM BATTLE<\/p>\n
Norris beat Piastri in both practice sessions, his advantage growing to 0.291 seconds by the afternoon, but the exact margin was hard to read at the end of a messy FP2 for both.<\/p>\n
Norris backed out of his fastest lap coming onto the front straight after an error, while Piastri\u2019s fastest time was hampered by traffic.<\/p>\n
This was the theme of the day \u2014 that in warm conditions around this short, narrow track, getting a clean lap in without tripping over other cars was defining.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think [FP2] was a little bit more messy, just in low fuel, high fuel,\u201d Norris said. \u201cA few more mistakes, but it\u2019s all part of practice, trying to find the limits in different areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood understanding. I think I know what I want from the car, but it might be a bit hard trying to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there was more intrigue than just scrappy laps.<\/p>\n
Norris was quicker at the start of the lap and clocked a purple middle sector, while Piastri was faster at the end, setting a purple time in the final split.<\/p>\n
With tyre management crucial over one lap, even in the easygoing McLaren, there were clearly two separate approaches being trialled to setting a qualifying time.<\/p>\n
Piastri set his fastest first sector on the subsequent lap, on used tyres, showing there was more grip that hadn\u2019t been spent.<\/p>\n
If you calculate their ideal laps, Piastri would have another 0.249 seconds to gain relative to Norris, which would theoretically reduce the gap between them to just 0.042 seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe performance has been very good,\u201d Piastri said. \u201cSo all in all pretty happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some things to tidy up \u2014 it wasn\u2019t the smoothest of FP2s \u2014 but I think the underlying pace is good, so I\u2019m excited for the rest of the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just 0.022 seconds separated the McLaren drivers for pole last year, with Norris prevailing \u2014 he\u2019s never been beaten by a teammate at the Hungaroring.<\/p>\n
This season\u2019s battle for pole could be even closer.<\/p>\n
Max confirms he’ll stay with Red Bull | 01:28<\/p>\n
DON\u2019T EXPECT A REPEAT OF THE 2024 RACE<\/p>\n
Two McLaren drivers battling in the front with a handy advantage of the field didn\u2019t prevent McLaren getting itself into a team orders muddle last year, with Norris almost pinching victory from Piastri after initially refusing to swap with his teammate when a team strategy incidentally put him into the lead.<\/p>\n
Eventually he relented in an important lesson for the team\u2019s culture in high-stress situations.<\/p>\n
But last year there was comparatively little at stake in the drivers championship, even if it was around that time that Norris could see a very narrow route to challenge Max Verstappen for the title.<\/p>\n
This year, however, there\u2019s much more on the line, with the drivers championship a straight fight between them.<\/p>\n
Team boss Andrea Stella said the team had learnt a lot from last year\u2019s race, and that the team emerged stronger as a result.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I take the race we had last year in Hungary, we spent quite a lot of time reviewing that individually with the drivers and together. We tried to learn from each other as much as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe reminded ourselves that Formula 1 is difficult, and we are always going to face some difficulties. This is an awareness we need to have.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom there, what can we do to improve? What can we do as a team to make sure we have a framework that allows Lando and Oscar to pursue their aspirations, always protecting the interests of the team?<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce again, I\u2019m a lucky team principal because the two drivers are very reasonable, very fair, very correct and humble, and above all, they understand that we are here not only to pursue our interest in the present but also to protect the future of their own careers and of McLaren Racing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also credited the drivers for improving their relationship such that he has no real concerns of a blow-up this year despite the title tension.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationship between Oscar and Lando keeps improving,\u201d Stella said. \u201cThis is not the effect of a random evolution; this is because we invest in relationships.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I refer to fundamentals of Formula 1, relationships are probably slightly less tangible, but I think they are as fundamental as aerodynamics. This involves the relationship between drivers and the team and between the drivers themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver time, reviewing this race by race, we have created a solid racing approach, an approach to which Lando and Oscar have definitely contributed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like the team created this racing approach and now Lando and Oscar follow it; we have put it together as a team including drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is a very robust framework, and this will be more and more important as the marginal value of every race increases as we get closer to the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piastri wins a wet Belgian Grand Prix | 03:52<\/p>\n
FERRARI SECOND BEST AS UPGRADE TAKES HOLD<\/p>\n
Pole will surely be fought exclusively between Norris and Piastri. Ferrari was the next-quickest team, but Leclerc was 0.399 seconds down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is a track that should suit us quite well, and it has done previously,\u201d Piastri said confidently. \u201cI think we\u2019re in a good place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notwithstanding the margin, telemetry suggests that McLaren was running with its engine turned down. Leclerc had an advantage down every straight; the Ferrari was the quickest car in a straight line bar none.<\/p>\n
While set-up difference could account for some of it, there\u2019s likely more in the tank for the already dominant McLaren.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like it\u2019s out position,\u201d Leclerc said, resigning Ferrari to second-quickest status. \u201crealistically I think it\u2019s going to be very tough to beat the McLaren tomorrow [in qualifying]. They seem a step forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the feeling with the car has been pretty positive so far. We\u2019ve got to do some steps more in the right direction tomorrow, but for now the feeling is good.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always very variable from Friday to Saturday, so I think we\u2019ll have to see tomorrow when we come to the track and see whether the pecking order is the same. For now I\u2019ll say we\u2019re in the middle \u2014 behind McLaren and ahead of the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same doesn\u2019t apply for Lewis Hamilton, who ended up sixth and 0.306 seconds slower than his teammate.<\/p>\n
Hamilton had several offs throughout both practice hours, explaining afterwards that he struggled with the balance of the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was not a good day for me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a very, very inconsistent balance from corner to corner. You can\u2019t just say it\u2019s understeer, you can\u2019t just say it\u2019s oversteer; it\u2019s just far from being on rails and very out of balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think it\u2019s something to do with tyre temperatures, so we\u2019re going to try and figure that out for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grip levels were unexpectedly high on Friday, which caught several teams by surprise, and grip also tends to ramp up significantly through the weekend at this circuit.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s set to be even warmer for qualifying but overcast conditions and possible rain on Sunday could be a spanner in the works of Hamilton getting the most from the car.<\/p>\n
‘Miles earlier!’: Max on rolling start | 01:02<\/p>\n
RED BULL RACING DOWNCAST AFTER DIFFICULT DAY<\/p>\n
Perhaps the takeaway from the weekend will be that Ferrari\u2019s recent upgrades have unlocked its car, at least enough to be second best.<\/p>\n
But part of its relatively comfortable position as the second-best team so far this weekend is the enormous struggle at Red Bull Racing to get any kind of response from the RB21.<\/p>\n
With all due respect to Yuki Tsunoda, who appears to be improving, you know it\u2019s bad when Verstappen is 0.306 seconds slower than his teammate.<\/p>\n
Verstappen was 1.167 seconds slower than Norris, and he bled time everywhere around the lap. Red Bull Racing does not have an advantage over McLaren at any part of the Hungaroring, and the compound effect of using its tyres more aggressively means the car becomes even less competitive the longer the lap continues. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday was very tough,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cJust a really low grip feeling and not really a balance in the car, so it\u2019s even difficult to say what the exact problem is,\u201d he said. \u201cNothing really worked, so it\u2019s something that we have to investigate overnight, because so far it\u2019s not been out weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Red Bull Racing has a habit of making significant steps forward overnight after analysis and simulator work back at base in the UK, but Verstappen was pessimistic that even a Hail Mary from the factory would be enough to get him back into the mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure we can do better, but today was quite bad,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to really understand first where it is and what is causing us to have such a big problem with the car.<\/p>\n
McLaren look really on it, they\u2019re flying. I want to be a little bit closer to P3.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wanting to be close to P3 is hardly an aspirational target, but it\u2019s indicative of the team\u2019s position as having the fourth-fastest frontrunner on Friday.<\/p>\n
Piastri picks off Norris in first lap | 00:32<\/p>\n
THE BATTLE FOR QUALIFYING<\/p>\n
The narrowness of the Hungaroring means qualifying is extremely important to finishing position, which will have several teams scrambling for set-up tweaks ahead of Saturday.<\/p>\n
The practice time sheet generated a fascinating jumbled order based on pure pace.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin ended the day as the third-fastest team, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso \u2014 who skipped FP1 with a back muscle complaint \u2014 splitting the Ferrari drivers.<\/p>\n
It was a remarkable performance, with the team\u2019s upgrades appearing to have delivered good gains everywhere except the track\u2019s slowest corners.<\/p>\n
It could potentially leave Mercedes exposed to losing places to its customer team, with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli ending the day seventh and 10th, the former 0.793 seconds off the pace.<\/p>\n
Mercedes has reverted to the suspension package it last used in Imola in an effort to unpick its recent poor form. This might not be the sort of circuit to validate top performance given the car prefers cooler conditions and shorter corners, but Antonelli being just 0.103 seconds slower than Russell suggests the car is not at least giving him more confidence after a tough few months with few points.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was nice,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty happy because I\u2019m getting the confidence back with the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still missing a little bit to the guys in front, but I think we\u2019re working well. We\u2019ve been changing the car a lot because obviously it felt like a big step with the old suspension.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe car was completely different, and we\u2019re just trying to rebalance the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
F1 analysis has Mercedes pegged as the third-quickest team on race pace, but that might not matter if it can\u2019t string together a competitive qualifying lap to start in a representative position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hungaroring has long been a favourite of the McLaren car, and in its ultimate form in 2025,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39092,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[34889,12295,13273,34868,64,63,34875,33127,34879,34871,13275,34864,34885,34895,16185,34888,21779,11301,2057,817,845,34883,813,816,34896,3875,2105,34882,19076,34894,939,34863,34887,34880,2328,34866,1737,34867,825,34862,18896,34873,3583,34865,2119,33108,34869,13777,28119,21749,34874,34899,34893,34876,34872,25601,34897,34860,34884,34877,34900,34878,3595,85,34890,34892,31283,34870,34886,34898,34891,34881,3586,34861,5077],"class_list":["post-39091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-advantage-growing","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-andrea-stella","tag-aspirational-target","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-back-muscle-complaint","tag-budapest","tag-bull-racing-downcast","tag-championship-contenders","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-comfortable-position","tag-competitive-qualifying","tag-cooler-conditions","tag-customer-team","tag-drivers-battling","tag-drivers-championship","tag-eastern-europe","tag-europe","tag-f1","tag-fernando-alonso","tag-final-split","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-fourth-fastest-frontrunner","tag-george-russell","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grip-levels","tag-hail-mary","tag-high-stress-situations","tag-hungary","tag-ideal-laps","tag-imola","tag-inconsistent-balance","tag-italy","tag-joe-portlock","tag-lando-norris","tag-lucky-team-principal","tag-max-verstappen","tag-means-qualifying","tag-midseason-break","tag-next-quickest-team","tag-northern-europe","tag-overcast-conditions","tag-pit-talk","tag-practice-sessions","tag-practice-time","tag-qualifying-session","tag-race-lead","tag-race-pace","tag-race-trim","tag-racing-approach","tag-random-evolution","tag-remarkable-performance","tag-representative-position","tag-rolling-start","tag-scrappy-laps","tag-second-quickest-status","tag-set-up-difference","tag-set-up-tweaks","tag-simulator-work","tag-solid-racing-approach","tag-southern-europe","tag-sports","tag-suspension-package","tag-team-management","tag-team-orders","tag-team-strategy","tag-third-fastest-team","tag-third-quickest-team","tag-title-tension","tag-tyre-temperatures","tag-united-kingdom","tag-upgrades-appearing","tag-yuki-tsunoda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}