F1 Hungarian GP: Lando Norris tops FP2 ahead of Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris closed out Friday’s Formula 1 practice sessions with the fastest time in FP2, finishing the session 0.291s ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.

The Briton led the times after the opening set of exploratory runs on medium tyres, setting a benchmark of a 1m16.525s on the C4 tyre – a lap that chiselled Piastri off the top of the standings by over 0.15s.

After Norris set that lap, the field made the customary mid-session switch to soft tyres, and Norris’ time then fell to Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll as the Canadian dug out 0.3s in hand over the McLaren driver with the C5s.

Piastri then uncovered even more time and crossed the 1m16s barrier, setting a 1m15.915s, but Norris once again upstaged his championship-leading team-mate to clock a 1m15.624s and go fastest.

In attempting another tour on the softs, Piastri had a wide moment on the exit of Turn 7, effectively cementing the order up front. The two McLarens almost had a moment at Turn 1, where Norris locked up exiting the pits as Piastri steamed around the outside.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

The field then switched to race runs with all three grades of tyre represented, locking in the top two and the pair was joined by Charles Leclerc, who went up to third – 0.399s off Norris’ pace.

Stroll retained position towards the top of the order and went up to fourth, joined by Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso in the top five; the Spaniard missed FP1 through back trouble, which left Felipe Drugovich to take his slot.

Lewis Hamilton was sixth fastest over former team-mate George Russell; the two Mercedes were separated by both Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda, who found pace over team-mate Max Verstappen – who only placed 14th in the timing order.

Verstappen reported that his car was “undriveable” and said he “can’t get any balance” – the Dutchman was placed under investigation for an incident where he threw a towel out of the car, which had been left in his cockpit.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed the top 10 over 11th-placed Ollie Bearman, who has finished 11th in a grand prix four times in a row. After missing FP1, Nico Hulkenberg was 12th in the order – Paul Aron replaced the German in FP1, but his session was cut short by a warning light on his dash.