Practice 1 Report - Norris edges Piastri as McLaren top session in Hungary

Lando Norris, Hungarian GP 2025
© McLaren

Lando Norris led a McLaren one-two in Friday’s opening practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, narrowly beating team-mate Oscar Piastri by just 0.019s.

Norris posted a 1m16.052s on soft tyres midway through the session at the Hungaroring, finding nearly half a second over Charles Leclerc in the middle sector. Piastri followed with a quicker first sector on his 1m16.071s lap, but couldn’t match Norris over the rest of the circuit.

Charles Leclerc had earlier topped the times when soft-tyre runs began, recording a 1m16.269s, but was ultimately relegated to third by the McLaren duo.

Isack Hadjar impressed with a 1m16.681s to go fourth for Racing Bulls, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who set a 1m16.734s in his Ferrari.

Ollie Bearman continued his strong form for Haas with a 1m16.878s to take sixth, just 0.002s ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes rookie posted a 1m16.880s to edge team-mate George Russell, who ended up eighth on a 1m16.925s.

Max Verstappen could only manage ninth, his 1m16.940s set early in the session standing as his best effort. Lance Stroll completed the top ten for Aston Martin with a 1m16.958s.

Fernando Alonso missed the session due to a back injury. His replacement, Felipe Drugovich, finished 16th with a time of 1m17.269s.

Paul Aron brought out a brief virtual safety car when his Sauber stopped at Turn 13 due to a “systems critical alarm.” He completed just nine laps and ended the session last with a 1m19.788s.

Gabriel Bortoleto, also in a Sauber, managed only a 1m17.652s before his running was curtailed.

Soft tyres were the focus for most teams as grip improved significantly in the second half of the session, with early medium and hard-tyre laps quickly eclipsed once the faster compound came into play.