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End of the day
And with that, we have reached the end of the day. Tomorrow, the third practice session will continue at 12:30 PM, and qualifying is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
We will, of course, be back in time with a new ticker for you. Have a nice evening, have a good weekend, and see you then!
Read more Mercedes emphasizes despite problems: Ferrari pace «not alarming»
Photos: F1: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest) 2026
Mercedes not writing off pole yet
Only P5 and P13 today for Mercedes, but deputy team principal Bradley Lord clarifies that Friday was “not alarming.” “We hope we can fight for pole position,” he emphasizes.
Lord reminds: “We have been competitive on every type of circuit this year. I know there’s a perception that certain tracks favor us and others favor others.”
“But we’ve seen other teams generally fluctuate quite a bit. However, I think we’ve been pretty consistently at the front and able to fight for pole position at every race,” says Lord.
Therefore, that “must also be our goal tomorrow,” he says confidently.
Williams: Track doesn’t suit us
At Williams, hopes for points are once again not overly high. “As expected, it was a difficult Friday in Hungary,” says Carlos Sainz after P17.
“This track exposes our biggest weaknesses, and we are struggling to find the right balance for the car,” explains the Spaniard.
Teammate Alexander Albon adds after P16: “Aston has made a big step forward this weekend. They are the ones we have to beat.”
“That will make Q1 a challenge,” he fears.
Norris: Not the easiest day
The world champion was the first Ferrari pursuer today, but still says: “A difficult day. The two practice sessions were not exactly easy for us. We did make a step forward this afternoon, but there is still a lot to do.”
“We introduced some new parts to the car today and need to understand them a bit better and figure out how to set them up optimally,” says Norris, who also emphasizes that no miracles should be expected.
“We know we won’t catch the guys in front of us immediately, so we have to keep working hard. But in some areas, we are making progress in the right direction,” he says.
“We will work hard overnight to get more out of this package and see what we can achieve tomorrow,” says the world champion.
Mixed feelings at Haas again
At Haas, it’s now regularly the case that only one driver is happy with the car. This time, Oliver Bearman says: “Today was tough. I had great difficulty finding the feeling for the car, especially compared to last week.”
“I basically lost all the confidence I had built up in the last race,” says the Brit after P15. Esteban Ocon, on the other hand, says after P12: “It was a much better Friday than in Spa, the car felt much better.”
“Lately we’ve had a lot of difficulties, but today there were none, so it was a very positive day,” says Ocon. Only for his teammate, things didn’t go so smoothly…
Read more Long-run shock: Antonelli destroys Ferrari in Hungary!
Leclerc: Lead not realistic
Lando Norris, as the best non-Ferrari driver in P3 today, was already half a second behind Lewis Hamilton’s best time. However, the Scuderia emphasizes that this picture is not realistic.
“Qualifying will be close. I don’t expect the gap to our competitors to be as big as it was today, so we need to deliver a perfect performance,” warns Charles Leclerc.
Nevertheless, he also emphasizes: “Our overall performance seems quite good, which is positive.” Leader Hamilton also speaks of a “solid” day. However, he also wants to find “a bit more performance.”
“Decent day” for Audi
Nico Hülkenberg explains after P9 today: “It was a fairly straightforward Friday. We tested the different tire compounds, learned a bit more about the car setup, and made some progress with the settings between the two sessions.”
“Overall, I would say it was a decent day. As expected, the midfield is incredibly close again, so every small detail will make the difference tomorrow,” he emphasizes.
Teammate Gabriel Bortoleto speaks of a “positive” day after P11.
Red Bull: Not fast enough
Less optimistic after Friday at Red Bull, where Pierre Wache explains that the car is difficult to drive. “I think it’s clear that we are not fast enough,” he admits.
“We just have to try to figure out how we can improve. We can’t work miracles, but we have to take it step by step,” explains Wache.
Isack Hadjar appropriately speaks of one of the toughest Fridays of the year. “I think the pace on the long run looked pretty good, but we were missing something on a single lap,” he explains.
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