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Ferrari dominated Friday’s practice at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix with a simulated qualifying margin of 0.7 seconds over McLaren, who were actually faster in two areas.
The Scuderia arrived on the outskirts of Budapest widely regarded as the favourite to win on Sunday. Many F1 paddock figures feel the Ferrari SF-26 has the best chassis on the grid this year, and the Maranello team also designed a superb high-downforce aerodynamic package.
Ferrari’s greatest advantages perfectly suit the demands of the tight and twisty Hungaroring, which Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc mastered in practice this Friday. The two Scuderia racers each led a session, with Leclerc fastest in FP1 and Hamilton fastest in FP2 in Hungary.
McLaren did not enjoy the challenge of the Hungaroring as much as Ferrari did, with Lando Norris only 11th-fastest and 1.949s adrift as Leclerc topped FP1 at the Hungarian GP. Norris improved his pace later in the day to be third, with a 0.499s deficit as Hamilton topped FP2.
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McLaren were faster in practice than Ferrari in the least beneficial areas of the Hungaroring
Norris did not complete a clean qualifying simulation run as Hamilton edged Leclerc to top FP2 at the Hungarian GP. The McLaren man was baulked by the red flags to recover Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, after the Argentine crashed at the last corner in the middle of the hour.
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Oscar Piastri, who sat out FP1 while Leonardo Fornaroli stood in, also only ranked eighth in FP2 with a 1.372s deficit to Hamilton. So, on paper, Formula 1’s official website now claims McLaren had a simulated deficit of 0.7s to Ferrari ahead of qualifying for the Hungarian GP.
Norris and Piastri even face a simulated 0.53s deficit to Ferrari’s Hamilton and Leclerc in race conditions. Ferrari gain 0.25s of their advantage over McLaren in slow-speed corners, where they also gained 0.6s over Mercedes on Friday, and marginally more in medium-speed turns.
Yet McLaren’s MCL40 was actually faster than the Ferrari SF-26 in the Hungaroring’s high-speed corners and down the straights. But McLaren’s fastest areas are the areas of the track that give the least rewards over a lap, and their advantage over Ferrari was rather negligible.
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Mercedes actually registered the most speed through the Hungaroring’s high-speed corners on Friday, while Racing Bulls led the way ahead of McLaren and then Ferrari on the straights.
Red Bull were the absolute quickest team through the medium-speed corners, after gaining around 0.25s over even Ferrari, but Red Bull lose far too much time in the slow-speed turns.
Norris and Piastri will have to hope that McLaren’s lesser deficits to Ferrari in the slow- and medium-speed corners during practice this Friday at least continue compared to Mercedes and Red Bull in qualifying for the Hungarian GP, with the three teams likely fighting for third.
Red Bull, in contrast, lost too much time on the small straights during practice on Friday. So, Max Verstappen in particular will hope Red Bull can overcome what was almost a 0.5s gap to Ferrari on the straights without neutralising their 0.25s margin in medium-speed corners.
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