During the second free practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lando Norris clocked the fastest time at the Hungaroring, closely followed by his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen struggled significantly with the balance of his Red Bull, ending up in a disappointing 14th place.
At the twisty circuit near Budapest, nearly the entire field starts on the medium tyre. While the McLarens immediately set the pace, Verstappen has to concede a second to the orange cars in the opening phase. “It’s like I’m driving on ice,” he says over the team radio.
Halfway through the session, the McLarens are still at the top, followed by Leclerc and the rookies Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman is doing well on this track as he steered his Racing Bulls to the fourth spot in the first free practice.
Then comes the moment when the drivers use the soft tyre to simulate the qualification. Lance Stroll immediately drives to the fastest time in his Aston Martin. As expected, he doesn’t hold onto the spot for long. Norris, Piastri, and Charles Leclerc knock him out of the top three. However, the green team remains fast on the Hungaroring, with Stroll and Fernando Alonso settling into P4 and P5 respectively.
Things are not going well for Verstappen. Despite frantic tinkering in the Red Bull pit box, the problem is not resolved. The reigning world champion even drops to P14 on the soft tyre. “I can’t drive with this, I have absolutely no balance in the car,” he says over the team radio.
In the end, Norris closes the session as the fastest, followed by Piastri and Leclerc.
