Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari should change driver, I am useless

Lewis Hamilton was disconsolate after qualifying at the Hungaroring - PA/Bradley Collyer

Lewis Hamilton suggested Ferrari should sack him for being “absolutely useless” after a dismal qualifying session at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

It represented a further downward turn for the seven-time Formula One champion in his debut season with the Italian team.

The Briton could only watch from the sidelines after being eliminated in Q2 as his team-mate Charles Leclerc took a stunning and unexpected pole position for Sunday’s race, denying the dominant McLarens.

Hamilton reacted to the news of his poor result by saying over the radio “every time, every time”. It means he has been out-qualified by his team-mate in 10 of the 14 rounds so far this season.

“It’s me every time. I’m useless, absolutely useless,” Hamilton, who will start the race in 12th, told Sky Sports after qualifying. “The team have no problem. You’ve seen the car’s on pole. So we probably need to change driver.”

The Hungaroring is a track that has brought Hamilton so much joy over the years. He took his first victory for Mercedes here in 2013 and even took pole position for the team in 2023 whilst they were in the doldrums.

Overall, he has taken a record eight wins and nine pole positions at this track. But those champagne-soaked moments must feel distant now, with this latest disappointment coming after he was knocked out in the opening round of both sprint and race qualifying last weekend in Belgium. The low starting berth will likely see Hamilton extend his run without a podium finish to 14 races.

The over-riding emotion that the 40-year-old displayed on Saturday evening was dejection. For Leclerc, it was exaltation. Such are the levels of self-confidence found in F1 drivers that they are rarely lost for words, even after achieving near-perfection on the asphalt. Leclerc could only laugh and resort to Italian exclamations after beating the dominant McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris into second and third.

“What?! Mamma mia, oh my god!” Leclerc shouted in his cockpit after taking a 27th career pole. Even after having a few moments to process his performance, he was still shocked.

“Today I don’t understand anything about Formula One,” he said after climbing out of his car. “I have no words, it is probably one of the best pole positions I’ve ever had because I did not expect that.”

It is probably not too much of an overstatement given how strong the McLarens had looked all weekend.

Charles Leclerc will start Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix on pole - Getty Images/Rudy Carezzevoli

It was a captivating end to the final qualifying session as scattered light rain and plummeting track temperatures brought the field together. In the end, just over a 10th of a second separated pole man Leclerc from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin in fifth. George Russell was in the fight and finished fourth for Mercedes. The difference between the entire top 10 was 0.543sec.

Leclerc’s pole follows an upward trend for one man at the Scuderia but a downward trend for the other. In the three qualifying sessions since Ferrari upgraded their rear suspension, Hamilton has qualified 18th, 16th and 12th. In the same time, Leclerc has been fourth, third and first.

After narrowly missing out on the constructors’ title last season, Ferrari were expected to challenge for both championships in 2025, but the team have had a disappointing season, lagging well behind McLaren, who have won 10 of 13 grands prix. When the car has been competitive, though, it is usually Leclerc who has gotten the best from it.

There has been some cheer at points for Hamilton, but they will be scant consolation for him now. Despite a sprint race pole and victory in China, he has only finished ahead of Leclerc in two out of a possible 13 grands prix.

For Leclerc, it is the high point in a season that is picking up momentum. After a solid start, the Monegasque has now taken four podiums in the last six races. His hopes of winning on Sunday, though, are limited, given that the McLaren’s strengths are always exaggerated over an entire race distance.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting race, I would expect us to have more pace than Charles,” third-placed man Norris said. Piastri added: “Charles has been quick all weekend, and this morning [in final practice] he was closer than we expected. I wasn’t expecting to be second to a Ferrari this weekend but he’s done a good job.”

Elsewhere, Max Verstappen’s difficult weekend continued as he could only qualify in eighth, though that was at least eight places ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

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04:39 PM BST

Full grid for tomorrow

04:38 PM BST

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella talking to Sky Sports

“Having seen the performance of the car in practice and in Q1 and Q2 we were certainly trying to lock out the front row of the grid. But today the conditions were very weird and very dependent on the wind. We paid a bit of a price.

“I think our drivers may have been a bit cautious because you never knew what grip you would find so we went four tenths slower while [Charles] Leclerc went faster. He deserved the pole position.”

04:30 PM BST

Lewis Hamilton, who starts 12th tomorrow, speaking to Sky Sports

04:28 PM BST

Your top three on the grid

Charles Leclerc will start ahead of the two McLarens tomorrow - Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

04:27 PM BST

Bottom ten in qualifying

11. Ollie Bearman (Haas)

12. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

13. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

15. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

16. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

18. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

19. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

20. Alex Albon (Williams)

04:25 PM BST

Top ten in qualifying

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:15.372
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.026
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.041
4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.053
5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.109
6. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.126
7. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) +0.353
8. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.356
9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.449
10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +0.543

04:22 PM BST

Lando Norris, who starts third tomorrow

04:14 PM BST

Quotes from Oscar Piastri, who starts second tomorrow

04:13 PM BST

The thoughts of the polesitter Charles Leclerc

04:07 PM BST

Ferrari’s reaction to that pole

04:05 PM BST

Top five

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

04:03 PM BST

Leclerc takes surprise pole position

Piastri starts his final lap with provisional pole whilst Norris is third. Norris does not have his best first sector and neither does Piastri.

Leclerc comes across the line before the McLarens and goes fastest. Norris can only go third fastest.

What can Piastri do? He cannot beat Leclerc’s time. Russell goes fourth. Verstappen is way down in eighth.

Leclerc will start the Hungarian Grand Prix on pole. No-one saw that coming.

03:59 PM BST

Final runs

The question for all the teams is do you risk a yellow flag hampering your lap if you go out last but the track will be at its quickest right at the end of the session.

Alonso sets a purple first sector and comes across the line in second. Stroll goes third fastest with the fastest final sector. A great showing from the Aston Martin duo.

Out comes everyone else. Norris is ahead of Piastri on the track.

03:57 PM BST

Astons going early

They have run at different times to everyone else really and they do so again with their final runs in Q3. Alonso is fourth whilst Stroll is ninth.

03:55 PM BST

Top five after first runs

1. Piastri
2. Norris
3. Russell
4. Alonso
5. Verstappen

Verstappen in fifth is nearly eight tenths off Piastri.

03:55 PM BST

First flying laps

Norris is quicker than his teammate Piastri in sector one, setting a purple sector. Piastri though is rapid through the middle sector.

Norris sets a 1:15.494 but is beaten by just under a tenth by Piastri.

Russell is quickest in the first two sectors but has to settle for third after his first run. He did have some oversteer through the last corner and would have lost a tenth there.

Verstappen can only go fifth.

03:50 PM BST

🟢 Green light

We are ready for Q3. Who will take pole? Surely we cannot look past a McLaren tussle for top spot on the grid?

03:46 PM BST

Five out in Q2

11. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

12. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

13. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

15. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

Antonelli is not only out in Q2 but he had a lap time deleted so will start 15th, rather than what he thought was going to be 11th.

03:43 PM BST

❌ Hamilton out

The seven-time world champion had a miserable qualifying weekend last week in Belgium and has been dumped out in Q2. He is 13th and will not take part in Q3, around a track he has a great record around. Antonelli is also out.

18th, 16th and now 12th for Hamilton in his three grand prix and sprint qualifying sessions with the upgraded Ferrari. Leclerc in the same period has qualified fourth, third and whatever he ends up with in Q3 here. This comes after a decent run after Hamilton’s Q2 elimination at Imola where he had an average qualifying position of 4.6. 

03:42 PM BST

What will be the fate of the Ferraris?

Leclerc goes into fifth and that should be enough. His teammate Hamilton is only seventh and may be looking over his shoulder.

Antonelli goes eighth and Hamilton is at risk. Russell and Verstappen need laps right now.

03:40 PM BST

Final flying laps

Under two minutes left and 13 of the 15 drivers are out on track. Just the two Aston Martins in third and fourth respectively in the pits.

03:39 PM BST

Chaos in the pits

How often do we say that as Sainz nearly hits a few drivers as he tried to barge his way into the fast lane.

03:37 PM BST

Bottom five with five to go

11. Hamilton

12. Sainz

13. Bortoleto

14. Antonelli

15. Colapinto

Colapinto is yet to set a time as his first effort was deleted for exceeding track limits.

03:35 PM BST

Free air

Leclerc has implored his team over the radio to allow him to go out in some free air without plenty of traffic. The Monegasque is in 10th, one place above his teammate Hamilton.

03:33 PM BST

McLaren pace on show

Norris goes purple in all three sectors to go top of the timesheets. His teammate Piastri goes fastest in the middle sector and comes across the line a half a tenth down on Norris.

The Ferraris can only go 10th and 11th respectively whilst Verstappen is only eighth after the first runs.

03:31 PM BST

Mercedes’ pace drops off?

Mercedes sent their duo out early, perhaps pre-empting the rain, but neither of their drivers set particularly great times.

03:29 PM BST

💧 Rain

Zak Brown had said minutes ago to Sky Sports that he felt that it was not going to rain but some drops are falling around turn six. Piastri is told that rain is passing past turns one and five. It could be a little slippery out there.

03:28 PM BST

Impressive work from the reigning F2 champion

That is now the seventh time of the last nine qualifying sessions (sprint and grand prix) that Gabriel Bortoleto has out-qualified Nico Hulkenberg. The German has been very handy over one lap in his career but Bortoleto is doing a superb job against him this year. He may not have the points that Hulkenberg has but this has been an impressive start for the Brazilian rookie.

Gabriel Bortoleto doing a good job for Sauber - Clive Rose/Getty Images

03:27 PM BST

🟢 Green light

After a short delay, Q2 is go, go, go!

03:25 PM BST

Start of Q2 delayed

Whilst they clear up some gravel at turn 12, which Piastri did kick onto the track as he went wide during Q1.

03:22 PM BST

❌ Five out in Q1

16. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

18. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

19. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

20. Alex Albon (Williams)

03:20 PM BST

Tsunoda dumped out

Hamilton, after a miserable qualifying last weekend in Belgium, is safely through as is his Ferrari teammate Leclerc.

As more and more drivers get faster, Tsunoda is bumped down into 16th and is out in Q1. His miserable season continues and the pressure is ramping up on the Japanese driver.

Yuki Tsunoda’s struggles continue - Jakub Porzycki/Reuters

03:18 PM BST

At risk?

Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli and Verstappen will all be a little nervous. The two Ferraris are now on flying laps.

03:17 PM BST

Piastri back to the top of the timesheets

The Australian retakes top spot after three purple sectors. Verstappen goes sixth fastest whilst his teammates goes eighth.

Interestingly both Mercedes and both Aston Martins are in the pits.

03:15 PM BST

Track evolution

Stroll goes third fastest, just over a tenth off Piastri, who is then bumped off top spot by Alonso to show that the track is ramping up.

There are queues in the pits as the drivers head out. Everyone knows they need to be out on track with the track getting faster and faster.

03:13 PM BST

Bottom five with five to go

16. Sainz

17. Tsunoda

18. Bearman

19. Gasly

20. Ocon

03:12 PM BST

Leclerc needs another good lap

The Monegasque was a little off the pace with his first flying lap and this perhaps explains why:

Leclerc caught a bit of traffic towards the end of his first quick lap, which may explain his slightly slow final sector. 

 

03:10 PM BST

Pressure on the Red Bulls?

Tsunoda is down in 17th after his first run and Verstappen is 13th, so both may have to burn through another new set of soft tyres.

03:09 PM BST

Mercedes show good pace

Two very good laps from Antonelli and Russell. The former goes third, ahead of Norris, whilst Russell puts himself into second having set a purple middle sector.

Mercedes have reverted to their old-spec suspension, hoping that it will help them find some of their form from earlier in the season. Since George Russell’s victory in Canada – when team-mate Kimi Antonelli finished third – only the Briton has scored points for the team, with underwhelming finishes of fifth, 10th and fifth again. 

The upgraded suspension did the job in Montreal but proved to be a backward step. Ferrari – with their upgraded suspension – appear to be McLaren’s leading challengers at the moment. 

Looks to be working OK so far…

03:08 PM BST

McLarens laying down an early marker

Verstappen is the first of the heavy hitters to set a flying lap in Q1. He sets a 1:16.346 but does not stay top of timesheets for long as Norris goes fourth tenths faster. Not even 30 seconds later Piastri sets three purple sectors to go three tenths ahead of Norris, despite going wide on the exit of turn 12 and dipping his tyres into the gravel.

Hamilton is third, with Alonso in fourth.

03:02 PM BST

🏎️ We have drivers out on track!

Just under two minutes into the session, we finally have some drivers making their way out. It is the Williams duo of Sainz and Albon who venture out first. They will get a free run throughout their first flying laps.

As some clouds have rolled in, the track temperature has significantly dropped.

Williams out first - Marton Monus/Reuters

03:00 PM BST

🟢 Green light!

We are ready for action and qualifying is under way at the Hungaroring. The crowds are ready and so are the drivers. Well, I say the drivers, but no-one is eager to go out too early.

02:55 PM BST

📢Five-minute klaxon

Qualifying is nearly upon us in Budapest. Can anyone challenge the McLaren duo for pole? I think not. There is some rain in the distance but will it affect this session? Maybe not.

02:54 PM BST

Tyre chat

Here is a rundown of how many sets of softs are available to each driver/ team in this session:

Five: Aston Martin, Haas, Racing Bulls, Yuki Tsunoda.

Four: McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Alpine, Sauber, Max Verstappen.

02:51 PM BST

Risk of rain?

It is hot in Budapest but could there be any rain that affects this qualifying session? There are some dark clouds rolling in when you look beyond turn one so there is a chance of some rain.

02:47 PM BST

Who has the edge?

02:43 PM BST

Piastri leads the way

02:41 PM BST

Genuine qualifying speed

02:38 PM BST

Albon: There is nothing I would have done differently at Red Bull

In 2018, George Russell, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon finished first, second and third respectively in the Formula Two championship. The following year, they made their debuts in Formula One. Russell and Norris have since emerged as two of the finest drivers on the grid at Mercedes and McLaren and have 12 race wins and 57 podiums between them.

Albon’s path has been rougher. The 29-year-old had a tremendous first 12 races for Toro Rosso in his debut year. So good, in fact, that he was chosen by Red Bull to replace the under-performing Pierre Gasly alongside Max Verstappen midway through 2019. Albon fared better than his predecessor in what is surely the toughest job in F1, but was dropped at the end of 2020 after 26 races with the team.

After that came a year out of F1, racing touring cars, before returning to the grid with Williams in 2022 when he replaced Mercedes-bound Russell. Since then he has steadily rebuilt his reputation whilst the team have done similar, both rebounding from turbulent times. After 13 rounds of this season Albon has 54 points and nine top-10 finishes. The only men above him in the standings drive either a McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull.

02:31 PM BST

Vasseur signs new Ferrari contract but it is not worth paper it is written on

Frédéric Vasseur’s new contract at Ferrari should not come as a shock. Since being appointed for 2023 to replace Mattia Binotto the team have progressed, not just on the track but behind the scenes, too. He was, after all, the man who convinced Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes after a decade at the team.

In 2024 Ferrari won five races – their most in a season since 2018 – and finished just 14 points from champions McLaren. Better still, he has managed to tone down some of the team’s tendencies towards disorder, chaos and their grande casino approach to motor racing.

The last time they competed for a drivers’ championship beyond the summer break was in 2018. Too often in the last 20 years the team – and their drivers, too – became experts in turning good into bad. With Vasseur, that has started to change, though he is not yet changing bad into good.

02:28 PM BST

Key to success? Relationships

It was interesting to hear Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal and an engineer at heart, describe how important relationships are to McLaren’s success. Speaking on Friday, he described it as a “fundamental” of Formula One.  

“If anything, the relationship between Oscar and Lando keeps improving. This is not the effect of a random evolution, this is because we invest in relationships. Relationships are probably slightly less tangible but I think as fundamental as aerodynamics,” he said. 

Of course, this race last year was where that relationship was tested seriously for the first time. It would be a surprise to see it repeated this weekend, but with the points gap moving back and forth, surely there will come another time later in the season.

02:26 PM BST

Constructors’ standings

1. McLaren- 516 points
2. Ferrari- 248 points
3. Mercedes- 220 points
4. Red Bull- 192 points
5. Williams- 70 points

02:22 PM BST

Drivers’ standings after round 13

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)- 266 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)- 250 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)- 185 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes)- 157 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)- 139 points

02:20 PM BST

Qualifying just around the corner

The McLaren duo have dominated the weekend thus far and you would imagine it will be a straight shoot-out between Norris and Piastri for pole. Qualifying from the Hungaroring gets going in around 40 minutes at 3pm BST.

12:33 PM BST

⏱️ FP3 classification

1. PIA 1:14.916
2. NOR +0.032
3. LEC +0.399
4. HAM +0.768
5. ANT +0.829
6. ALO +0.878
7. STR +0.912
8. RUS +0.924
9. BOR +1.062
10. HUL +1.109
11. BEA +1.211
12. VER +1.246
13. COL +1.331
14. LAW +1.455
15. SAI + 1.526
16. ALB +1.614
17. OCO +1.615
18. GAS +1.654
19. TSU +1.962
20. HAD +2.040

12:31 PM BST

🏁 FP3 ends - A McLaren one-two

Piastri leads Norris but not by much, just 0.032sec. Then it’s the two Ferraris who are 0.4 and 0.77 off respectively.

12:27 PM BST

FP3 - Into the final few minutes

Hamilton does not improve, either, around four tenths off his previous best. 

12:25 PM BST

FP3 - Norris does not improve on his latest fast lap

Norris and Hamilton going again. Doesn’t look like Norris will improve from his previous best and indeed doesn’t. Not on fresh tyres, though, so it will always be a struggle. So it proved. 

Let’s see what Hamilton has. 

12:22 PM BST

FP3 - Albon has improved

Up to 14th and just one place (but three tenths) behind team-mate Carlos Sainz. I sat down with the Williams driver on Thursday to talk through his season, his time at Red Bull and his rising reputation. Read the interview here.

Alexander Albon of Thailand and Williams prepares to drive during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on August 02, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary

12:20 PM BST

FP3 - 🟨 Double yellow flags 🟨

Isack Hadjar spins entering the final corner... he gets it going and keeps it out of the barriers, though. Rears gave up on him. Antonelli has put in a decent lap in the Mercedes, fifth and faster than Russell. 

Verstappen complains about struggling with understeer. 

10 minutes remain. 

12:16 PM BST

FP3 - It’s close at the top...

Hamilton not pulling up any trees with his latest hot lap. He improves his time but is now 0.768sec off Piastri. Norris improves to second and within a tenth of a second of his team-mate, with a very good final sector.

Worse news for Verstappen who stays second and 1.246sec off the pace. Slower than Piastri, Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc but also Stroll and Hulkenberg...

12:15 PM BST

FP3 - Piastri with a fine lap

Piastri starts a new hot lap on fresh soft tyres. He is nearly 0.8sec up after two sectors and ends the lap faster by 0.955sec on his previous best. Great effort, now a whole second faster than Hamilton in second, who is also going again.

Williams struggling. Well, one of them appears to be. Albon down in 19th. Sainz in 10th, though.

12:14 PM BST

FP3 - ⏱️ How the top 10 looks

1. PIA 1:15.871
2. HAM +0.144
3. NOR +0.244
4. LEC +0.266
5. VER +0.331
6. BOR +0.387
7. RUS +0.441
8. ANT +0.653
9. ALO +0.686
10. SAI +0.809

12:10 PM BST

FP3 - 20 mins remain

Isack Hadjar, rookie of the year so far, is not happy on the team radio. “I don’t know what’s wrong with the traffic but it’s too bad... like Norris doesn’t know how to let by someone,” he says. 

12:09 PM BST

FP3 - Norris improves

But he stays third, 0.244sec off his team-mate. Hamilton still in second. He has a tremendous record at this track with eight victories and nine pole positions. A pole is a step too far this year but a top-three start would be something to celebrate, no doubt. 

12:02 PM BST

FP3 - Hamilton sneaks into second place

He is now the lead Ferrari, about a tenth faster than Leclerc and 0.144sec slower than leader Piastri. 

11:59 AM BST

FP3 - Leclerc back to the top now

Leclerc is on a flyer. Fastest of anyone in the first two sectors on fresh soft tyres. But he makes a small mistake in sector three and loses some time. Still goes fastest but only by 0.065sec

Bortoleto, who has been quietly impressive this season, is briefly in fourth before being nudged down to fifth.

11:57 AM BST

FP3 - Verstappen back at the top

Just 0.038sec faster than Piastri. Here’s the top 10: 

1. VER 1:16.202
2. PIA +0.038
3. RUS +0.110
4. LEC +0.204
5. NOR +0.467
6. HAM +0.557
7. STR +0.615
8. HUL +0.628
9. TSU +0.676
10. ANT +0.848

11:56 AM BST

FP3 - Piastri moves top but Norris struggles

Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on August 02, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary

Not a good lap from Norris, but a good one from Piastri, who goes fastest of all by 0.072sec. Norris, who was 0.429sec down on his team-mate didn’t appear to lose lap time in one sector but rather over all of them. It may have been a single mistake that led to it, though. 

11:53 AM BST

FP3 - Russell moves fastest

Decent lap from Leclerc. He now moves ahead of Max Verstappen by a tenth or so but then along comes George Russell who beats the Ferrari by 0.094sec. Lewis Hamilton currently fourth but nearly half a second off Russell. All drivers on the soft tyres. 

McLarens starting their fast laps now. 

11:50 AM BST

FP3 - Verstappen moves to the top

He is now 0.270sec faster than Lance Stroll. Yesterday was not a good day, with lots of complaining about the balance, but Red Bull are usually good at turning things around. 

11:48 AM BST

FP3 - ⏱️ Current order

Most drivers have not even bothered coming out of the pit lane yet. 

1. TSU 1:17.022
2. STR +0.518
3. COL +0.984
4. HUL +1.072
5. GAS +1.082

11:47 AM BST

FP3 - Tsunoda starts his hot lap

He should go quickest here, after two purple sectors in one and two and indeed does. 0.518sec faster than Stroll. He had a decent qualifying session last weekend and could do with another one here this weekend. Even a top-10 finish would be a great result given the recent context. 

11:44 AM BST

FP3 - Hulkenberg and Gasly on the board

Colapinto still quickest but both the Sauber and Alpine are within a tenth of a second. Then Lance Stroll comes along and beats Colapinto by nearly half a second. 

11:39 AM BST

FP3 - Nobody has set a lap time yet...

Franco Colapinto is about to change that, though, on soft tyres in the Alpine. A tough season for him so far, no doubt. Could do with a decent performance this weekend to go into the summer break with at least a tiny amount of cheer. 

He crosses the line with a 1:18.006. 

11:32 AM BST

FP3 - Norris out there early on

A slight surprise, perhaps. On the hard tyres so let’s see what he does. Piastri also out and then the two Aston Martins.

Norris comes in without finishing his lap, so just scrubbing a set of tyres, it seems. Likewise for Piastri.

11:30 AM BST

🟢GREEN LIGHT - FP3 BEGINS

The final hour of practice before qualifying later today. 

11:28 AM BST

We are nearly ready to get going

It’s warm out there today, though a little cooler than it sometimes is here. 

11:27 AM BST

New facilities at the Hungaroring

A general view of the McLaren motorhome in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 31, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary

The old pit building complex and the grandstand on the pit straight have been demolished and replaced with newer, swankier buildings. This was the first race behind the Iron Curtain in 1986 and the old facilities, though charming in their own way and functional, did need an upgrade to bring the track into the 21st century. No surprise to see this race’s contract renewed until the 2030s and this would certainly have been a factor. 

11:16 AM BST

Current constructor standings

As it stands, McLaren are on course to break both the record for points scored in a season by a team as well as average points per race. The slight complication being that this is slightly out of context because the seasons are longer than ever now, there are six sprint races (an additional potential 90 points) and there are more points available and for more finishing positions than for most of F1 history. That is not to knock the achievement. This could well end up being McLaren’s most successful car after the MP4/4. 

11:10 AM BST

Current driver standings – Top 10

11:05 AM BST

A strange moment in FP2 yesterday...

This incident was investigated for an unsafe release, because Verstappen was sent out with the towel in his cockpit. In the end the stewards decided to warn the team and there was no sporting penalty for the driver. It may have been a different story had it been a spanner or another, harder and heavier item, the stewards said. Probably fair in the end. And Verstappen was correct to want it out of his cockpit. 

11:00 AM BST

Times after second practice

1. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1min 15.624secs
2. Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:15.915
3. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:16.023
4. Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:16.119
5. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:16.233
6. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Ferrari 1:16.329
7. George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:16.417
8. Isack Hadjar (Fra) RB 1:16.427
9. Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Red Bull 1:16.485
10. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Ita) Mercedes GP 1:16.520
11. Oliver Bearman (Gbr) Haas F1 1:16.567
12. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Kick Sauber 1:16.680
13. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Haas F1 1:16.704
14. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:16.791
15. Liam Lawson (Nzl) RB 1:16.812
16. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Williams 1:16.874
17. Gabriel Bortoleto (Bra) Kick Sauber 1:16.946
18. Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:17.021
19. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:17.043
20. Franco Colapinto (Arg) Alpine 1:17.159

10:54 AM BST

Good morning

Welcome to our live coverage for final practice for the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, with qualifying coming a little later in the day. This is the final race before the summer break and a last chance for drivers to end the first part of the season on a good note. At this stage it very much looks like a two-horse race for the 2025 drivers’ championship. 

The McLaren is quite frankly miles ahead of any other car at the moment and even further ahead than it was at the start of the season. As it stands it will either be Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris who will take home the championship, their first in F1. 

Piastri is the leading man after being a little bit more consistent and a little bit quicker over the first 13 rounds. Not by much – as is reflected by a fairly narrow 16-point lead – but by just enough. He has won six races to Norris’s four. Both men have made small mistakes at times and are driving well. Max Verstappen is too far away to realistically consider him a title contender, as well as he has been driving. 

Of course it was here last year that the Australian took his first win in F1, though it was not without controversy, with a lengthy team orders back and forth between both drivers and their race engineers. It soured his maiden victory a little. Will we see a repeat of that this year? He bounced back well in Spa with a race win from second on the grid last week, ending Norris’ min-run of race victories. 

It certainly looked like it will be one of the two McLarens winning the race after yesterday’s running. We will, though, perhaps discover a little more in final practice which is coming up. 

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