Norris stretches advantage over Piastri in FP2

Lando Norris remained on top during the second practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, extending his advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri from the first session.

The two McLaren drivers were separated by just 0.019s in FP1, but Norris put together a stronger run on low fuel and soft tires in the second session to pull 0.291s clear of Piastri. That result came despite Norris nearly dropping it on a second timed attempt, as the Briton dipped his outside tires onto the grass at the turn-in point for the final corner and ended up recovering in the run-off area.

The top three drivers remained the same from FP1 to FP2, with Charles Leclerc also slipping further behind Norris as he ended up 0.4s adrift of the lead McLaren. Leclerc was also less than 0.1s clear of Lance Stroll in fourth, as Aston Martin enjoyed a more competitive start to the weekend than it did in Belgium.

Fernando Alonso was back in action after sitting out the first practice session to manage a muscular injury in his back, returning to his car after Felipe Drugovich substituted for him in FP1. The Spaniard wasted no time in getting up to speed, completing 25 laps – only three fewer than teammate Stroll – as the pair both ended up in the top five.

There was a strange moment for Max Verstappen during what was an uncompetitive session for the defending champion, as he found what appeared to be a spare balaclava in his cockpit while out on track.

Rather than returning to the pits with the item, Verstappen pulled towards the inside of the circuit and threw it away, with the stewards stating they would investigate the incident after the session. The investigation relates to the car allegedly being released in an unsafe condition, rather than where the Dutchman threw the item.

Verstappen ended up 14th in the standings, over 0.3s slower than teammate Yuki Tsunoda who was ninth quickest, and reported on the radio during his long run: “I don’t know what’s going on, it’s just undrivable. I can’t get any balance.”

The Red Bull driver’s mood will not have been helped by the long-run pace, either, as he was on average around 0.8s per lap slower than Piastri on the medium tire, and 0.3s off what Leclerc was posting.

Of the top four teams, Mercedes also appeared to struggle for long-run pace, with George Russell another 0.4s per lap off Verstappen and over a second off the McLaren pace on his race simulation.

Russell ended up seventh-fastest overall and the best part of 0.8s off Norris’ lap time, just behind Lewis Hamilton and ahead of Isack Hadjar as Racing Bulls had another strong start to a race weekend.

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