Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Piastri leads Norris by three hundredths

Oscar Piastri set the fastest time in the third practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, edging out his teammate Lando Norris by just 0.032 seconds. The McLarens confirmed their dominance at the Hungaroring ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying.

McLaren widens the gap on the competition.

The track temperature reached 47 degrees at the start of the session, conditions even hotter than on Friday that seem to perfectly suit the Woking cars. Piastri set a time of 1:14.916, going under the 1:15 mark and getting dangerously close to the 2024 pole position time (1:15.2).

Norris, who had dominated the first two sessions on Friday, failed to reproduce his previous day’s performance despite several attempts. The Briton notably lost time in the first part of the circuit during his best lap, only managing to come close to his Australian teammate’s time.

The internal battle at McLaren is expected to be tight for the qualifiers. Neither of the two drivers seemed to fully exploit the potential of their car during this session, suggesting possible improvements this afternoon.

Ferrari keeps up the pressure

Charles Leclerc finishes third, 0.399 seconds behind Piastri, a gap that reveals the current dominance of McLaren on this track. The Monegasque nevertheless keeps Ferrari in a challenger position, despite his usual difficulties on the Hungaroring, which he considers his least favorable circuit.

Lewis Hamilton completes the top 4 but is significantly behind with a delay of 0.768 seconds compared to the best time. The seven-time world champion had experienced balance issues on Friday, describing his Ferrari as very unbalanced and far from being on rails. Despite the adjustments made, the gap remains concerning.

The gap between the two Ferrari drivers stands at 0.369 seconds in favor of Leclerc, illustrating Hamilton’s ongoing difficulties in taming his car under these conditions. The high tire temperatures could explain these setup challenges.

Red Bull at an impasse

Max Verstappen continues to struggle at the Hungaroring, finishing only 12th, 1.246 seconds off the pace. The three-time world champion cannot find the balance of his RB21, oscillating between understeer and oversteer according to his radio comments.

The Dutchman is experiencing a deficit similar to that observed on Friday, despite the changes made by Red Bull overnight. His position on the grid currently puts him in danger of elimination as early as Q2.

Yuki Tsunoda is experiencing an even more difficult weekend, ranking in 19th place. The Japanese driver has been particularly frustrated by the traffic conditions on the circuit, multiplying sharp comments on his team radio.