Charles Leclerc sets the fastest time during the first free practice for the Hungarian GP. Max Verstappen is doing well with the renewed ‘Macarena’ wing and records the second fastest time, while Lewis Hamilton finishes third.
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Under summery conditions, the F1 drivers kick off the first free practice session at the Hungaroring. A number of regular drivers are replaced by test drivers in this session. We see Ryo Hirakawa in the Haas, Colton Herta at Cadillac, Paul Aron in the Alpine, Frederik Vesti at Mercedes, and Leonardo Fornaroli in the McLaren.
Except for Alpine, every team has brought upgrades to the last race before the summer break. The ‘Macarena’ rear wing makes a striking comeback in Hungary. Ferrari deploys extra elements on the downforce-sensitive Hungaroring, while Red Bull also re-embraces the concept after previous doubts. McLaren has also brought the wing, but is currently limiting its use to testing during this free practice session.
Most eyes, however, are on Aston Martin. The troubled team finally introduces the long-awaited major upgrades here. Due to the extent of the problems with the AMR26, development had largely stalled in recent months. Now the car receives a significant update, which Aston Martin previously described as a ‘B-spec’. The next big step, but in terms of engine, will follow immediately after the summer break during the Dutch GP in Zandvoort.
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After half an hour, Max Verstappen sets the fastest time. He is thus the first driver to dip below one minute twenty. He doesn’t have much time to enjoy it, because Charles Leclerc soon after adds to it, shaving four tenths off the Dutchman’s time. The Ferrari driver records a time of 1:19.075.
With 23 minutes remaining, the red flag is waved. Lance Stroll is stopped with a broken rear suspension. In the footage, the part appears to break spontaneously. End of practice for the Canadian, who misses the rest of the session. Meanwhile, his teammate Fernando Alonso spends a long time in the garage due to severe vibrations. Nevertheless, the Spaniard still manages to set an encouraging thirteenth fastest time on the hard tire.
No one manages to improve Leclerc’s time after that, meaning the Monegasque finishes the first free practice as the fastest. Verstappen finishes second, followed by Hamilton.
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