After two free practice sessions dominated by the Ferrari SF-26, the final fine-tuning took place at the Hungaroring under significantly higher thermal conditions. The hotter track surface played a pivotal role in shifting the competitive order established on Friday, setting up a thrilling battle ahead of qualifying.
Before diving into the track action, operating conditions at the start of the session were as follows:
- Air temperature: 24°C
- Track temperature: 51°C
- Humidity: 23% (reported as 239% in early track data)
- Wind: 1.3 m/s from the South
Perez red flag interrupts early soft-tyre runs
Franco Colapinto was the first driver to head out on track on soft tyres, quickly followed by Lance Stroll, who needed to regain valuable track time lost during Friday’s running when the rear-left suspension failed on his Aston Martin AMR26-B. The field remained relatively quiet until 15 minutes into the session, when Oscar Piastri ventured out on the C5 Pirelli compound. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc soon joined the action on the red-banded rubber.
Following the initial fast laps, Oscar Piastri held the top spot ahead of Charles Leclerc and Liam Lawson, with Lewis Hamilton placing fourth, though all drivers still had considerable margin to improve. Notably, McLaren brought major MCL40 upgrades to Oscar Piastri’s car for Saturday’s running after Lando Norris evaluated the package exclusively on Friday.
Just as Lando Norris surged to the top of the leaderboard 20 minutes into the session, the red flags were deployed. The Cadillac driven by Sergio Perez brought out the stoppage after pulling over at Turn 2 with visible smoke billowing from the rear end, requiring marshals to intervene and recover the car due to a rear brake issue.
Hotter Hungaroring track conditions test Ferrari’s balance
The session resumed with 35 minutes remaining on the clock. Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli was among the first drivers to head back out on soft tyres, eager to build momentum after failing to complete a clean push lap on Friday. Mercedes demonstrated strong single-lap pace as George Russell moved into second position while Charles Leclerc sat third and Andrea Kimi Antonelli fifth, though the young Italian subsequently had his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
At first glance during this phase, Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari SF-26 appeared to slide more than it had during Friday’s practice sessions, with higher track temperatures subtly affecting the car’s handling balance. However, Lewis Hamilton seemed unbothered by the heat; with 27 minutes remaining, the seven-time World Champion moved up to first place, holding a narrow nine-thousandths-of-a-second lead over the McLaren duo, while Max Verstappen slotting into fourth just behind the MCL40s.
On a subsequent run with fresh soft tyres, Charles Leclerc surged back to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1:18.668, leading Andrea Kimi Antonelli (+0.144) and Lewis Hamilton. The Briton had set the fastest sectors in sectors one and three but lost time following a small error in the middle sector. Following their single-lap attempts, Scuderia Ferrari sent both drivers back out on soft tyres to conduct a brief stint under higher fuel loads.
Lando Norris breaks into the 1:17s to secure FP3 top spot
As teams bolted on fresh soft tyres for the final qualifying simulations, Andrea Kimi Antonelli momentarily grabbed first place with a time of 1:18.254. Oscar Piastri answered back almost immediately on his updated McLaren, posting a 1:18.206 to briefly lead the pack.
Ferrari launched their response, with Charles Leclerc slotting into third place, 0.085 seconds adrift of Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton then set a blistering pace to take provisional top spot with a 1:18.056. However, reigning champion Lando Norris had the final say, striking back with a 1:17.939 to become the only driver to drop into the 1:17 bracket and secure the fastest time of final practice.
2026 Hungarian GP – FP3 Full Classification
- Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:17.939
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
- Isack Hadjar (Red Bull Racing)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Alexander Albon (Williams)
- Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
As track temperatures fluctuated, the fine margin between McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes became clear, setting up an unpredictable qualifying session where execution and tyre management will dictate the starting grid.
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