Hungarian GP FP2: Hamilton Leads Ferrari 1-2 as Rivals Complain and Colapinto Crashes

Ferrari arrived at the Hungaroring and proceeded to make the rest of the field look like they were on a different tyre compound, a different circuit, and possibly a different planet. Lewis Hamilton topped FP2 with a 1:18.729, 0.148 seconds clear of team-mate Charles Leclerc, as Ferrari locked out the top two in a session that was equal parts competitive and chaotic. The session started at 17:00 local time (15:00 UTC), check the calendar for your local time.

Everyone Else Was Having a Nightmare

While Ferrari looked comfortable, the rest of the paddock was airing its grievances loudly. George Russell described his Mercedes as feeling “dreadful” and “so out of balance.” Championship leader Kimi Antonelli reported near-spins under braking and rear locking issues that his team simply could not cure between stints. Pierre Gasly was convinced something was structurally broken on his Alpine. Max Verstappen moaned about a super-stiff rear axle, a dodgy seating position, and then collected debris from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin for good measure. It was, by any measure, a difficult afternoon for the sport’s other pretenders.

Colapinto Ruins His Own Friday

The session’s red flag arrived courtesy of Franco Colapinto, who had already missed FP1 after handing his Alpine to rookie Paul Aron. Having finally got behind the wheel, he promptly lost the rear at the final corner and speared backwards into the barriers, ending his session on just eleven laps and leaving Alpine with an overnight repair job. Not ideal preparation for qualifying. The crash wiped out several hot laps, most notably Antonelli’s, who had been on a quick lap before the red flag struck, then made an error at the Turn 6 chicane on the restart. He ended up P13, his fastest time set on medium tyres, making his classification essentially meaningless for headline purposes.

“I lost the rear in the final corner and hit the barriers backwards. Not a good day, not an ideal start.” – Franco Colapinto

Aston Martin: One Car, Many Questions

Lance Stroll never left the garage in FP2. His AMR26 suffered a rear suspension collapse in FP1, and Aston Martin, short on spare parts having brought 16 new components to debut their B-spec car, simply could not fix it in time. Fernando Alonso soldiered on alone, eventually finishing 19th, three seconds off the pace. Team principal Adrian Newey called the debut “promising” and noted further updates will follow at Zandvoort and Monza, which is very much the kind of language you use when the headlines are not yet on your side. For more on the B-spec debut, see our Aston Martin B-spec upgrade breakdown.

The Rest of the Order

Lando Norris split the chaos to take third, 0.499 seconds off Hamilton’s benchmark in his upgraded McLaren. Verstappen was fourth at 0.692 seconds, Russell fifth at nearly a full second. Isack Hadjar was sixth for Red Bull, Liam Lawson seventh for Racing Bulls, Oscar Piastri eighth. Nico Hulkenberg and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten. Russell’s Friday was another uncomfortable session for a driver who needs answers before qualifying, while Red Bull’s Macarena wing return clearly has not solved everything at the Hungaroring.

Full FP2 Results

If Friday means anything at all, Ferrari head into qualifying weekend as the team to beat. The Hungaroring suits their car’s strengths in slow-speed corners, and half a second to the nearest challenger is a margin that does not shrink of its own accord. Mercedes will need a quiet, productive Saturday morning to explain away Antonelli’s P13. Everyone else will need to pray for a different wind direction.