Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Latifi and Williams first before qualifications!
The third practice session brought an incredible surprise: Nicholas Latifi made everyone agree to claim the fastest time, before the qualifiers!

The beginning of the session was relatively calm, due to the difficult track conditions. The rain generously watered the Hungaroring and Charles Leclerc was the first to take on the challenge, four minutes after the start of the session.
The Monegasque driver immediately switched to the maximum rain tires, just like his teammate Carlos Sainz who followed suit. In these conditions, it’s necessary to play it like karting: take the outer racing lines.
Lando Norris also took to the track, behind the wheel of a McLaren that displayed promising signs of performance on Friday.
The first few lap times, at this moment not very representative, are beyond 1’43. Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, opted for intermediates tires! But with this tire choice, the Asturian Bull was far from competitive. Nevertheless, it’s important to try different things, even if it means putting on a show with a bit of sliding.
The Red Bull drivers, on the other hand, remained calm and did not take to the track, just like Lewis Hamilton.
Good surprises are not lacking at the outposts: the two Aston Martins, after the first quarter of an hour, were in 3rd and 4th places, with Vettel leading Stroll. But it was far behind Charles Leclerc, who was at least two seconds ahead of everyone and 9 tenths ahead of his teammate, Carlos Sainz.
The rain was intensifying and aquaplaning incidents were becoming more frequent. Pierre Gasly and Guanyu Zhou were caught off guard at turn 4, where it is difficult to find traction on the inside line.
Only Fernando Alonso completed a timed lap in intermediates, which puts him in 5th place, 2.449 seconds behind Charles Leclerc, who is still leading. Not bad!
The Red Bulls and Hamilton decide to go out.
The qualifications are expected to take place under similar conditions as FP3 and finally, the last ones hit the track.
The rain has eased off in the last half hour. Improvements have occurred: Vettel has taken the 2nd fastest time, 814 milliseconds behind Leclerc, while the Haas cars have claimed the 4th and 5th positions, with Kevin Magnussen ahead of Mick Schumacher.
Pierre Gasly, 10th behind Tsunoda, spun out at the exit of turns 6 and 7 chicane. This mishap had no consequences.
Interestingly, George Russell was far from accurate (only 16th). The British driver changed his MGU-K, the last one of the season, and needs to take care of his car, with a possible penalty looming ahead.
The improvements continue on the rain tire, but Fernando Alonso doesn’t change his strategy: he remains on intermediate tires, without being able to gain any time. Perhaps he wants to keep the rain tires. Let’s remember that in the case of a declared wet race, pit stops are no longer mandatory.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen finally takes to the track, with less than 20 minutes remaining in the session. Pérez followed suit. Hamilton, on the other hand, can’t find any way to get his tires working.
Fifteen minutes into the session, Charles Leclerc, on intermediate tires, pulled off a beautifully saved 360 spin. Be careful not to take too many risks! Meanwhile, George Russell went straight on at T12.
The end of the session was dedicated to work on the green tire. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso was surprising everyone: here he is in 2nd place, with a time of 1:43:570, behind Leclerc!
Vettel, on the other hand, hit the wall at the bottom of turn 10, causing a red flag. His car didn’t seem damaged. The drivers were restarted for the remaining four minutes of the session.
Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen temporarily quarreled for first place… and suddenly, here comes Latifi! Incredible but true, he has set the fastest time, to the cheers of the crowd! On top of that, Alexander Albon has taken the third fastest time. This won’t happen often, so let’s savor it before the qualifications!
Results of Free Practice 3 of the Hungarian Grand Prix
N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1:41.480 | 17 | |
2 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:42.141 | +0.661 | 14 |
3 | Albon | Williams Racing | 1:42.381 | +0.901 | 19 |
4 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:43.205 | +1.725 | 10 |
5 | Russell | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:43.434 | +1.954 | 13 |
6 | Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | 1:43.570 | +2.090 | 16 |
7 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:43.589 | +2.109 | 15 |
8 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:43.743 | +2.263 | 13 |
9 | Vettel | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1:44.178 | +2.698 | 14 |
10 | Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:44.655 | +3.175 | 20 |
11 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:44.832 | +3.352 | 11 |
12 | Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | 1:45.156 | +3.676 | 18 |
13 | Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | 1:45.570 | +4.090 | 17 |
14 | Ricciardo | McLaren F1 Team | 1:45.624 | +4.144 | 11 |
15 | Stroll | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1:45.638 | +4.158 | 17 |
16 | Zhou | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:45.691 | +4.211 | 17 |
17 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:45.850 | +4.370 | 17 |
18 | Bottas | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:45.930 | +4.450 | 20 |
19 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:46.091 | +4.611 | 18 |
20 | Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1:46.240 | +4.760 | 11 |