In the final hour of practice in Budapest, Lewis Hamilton set the pace ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen and his Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Pérez.
With only sixty minutes left in the weekend to fine-tune their setups for qualifying and Sunday’s race, the drivers headed out onto a much greener Hungaroring compared to the previous day due to heavy rain overnight.
Teams continued to adjust to Pirelli’s Alternative Tyre Allocation for the weekend, which mandated the use of hards in Q1, mediums in Q2, and softs in Q3. Some drivers opted to start the session on used slick tires. However, Verstappen, who was on a fresh set of mediums, quickly set the fastest time with 1:18.478s.
As the session progressed, drivers switched to brand-new soft tyres, and Hamilton climbed to the top of the timesheets with a time of 1:17.811s, putting him two and a half tenths ahead of Verstappen in second on the same tyre compound.
Perez continued his recovery from his crash in Free Practice One and a damaging lock-up in the second practice session, securing the third position. An impressive lap from Haas F1 Team driver Nico Hülkenberg, while Lando Norris rounded out the top five, intriguingly setting his best time on mediums.
George Russell was the sixth fastest, followed by the Scuderia Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. Fernando Alonso claimed ninth fastest, while Valtteri Bottas showed good pace for Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake to secure tenth place. His teammate Zhou Guanyu finished in twelfth position, with Lance Stroll in between the Alfa Romeo pair.
Alex Albon secured the thirteenth fastest time for Williams Racing, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Kevin Magnussen. Pierre Gasly, the lead BWT Alpine F1 Team driver, finished sixteenth, while Logan Sargeant followed in seventeenth place.
Former Hungaroring winner Esteban Ocon had a tough session, finishing nineteenth, respectively. Yuki Tsunoda found himself at the bottom of the field. Daniel Ricciardo has his final hour of practice before returning to F1 qualifying and put in a good lap to finish three-tenths ahead of his teammate on the same tyre compound.
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:17.811 | 20 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:18.061 | +0.250s | 23 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:18.067 | +0.256s | 25 |
| 4 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:18.077 | +0.266s | 21 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:18.082 | +0.271s | 19 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:18.119 | +0.308s | 22 |
| 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:18.190 | +0.379s | 28 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:18.234 | +0.423s | 29 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:18.350 | +0.539s | 20 |
| 10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 1:18.489 | +0.678s | 24 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:18.536 | +0.725s | 20 |
| 12 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 1:18.544 | +0.733s | 23 |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:18.592 | +0.781s | 17 |
| 14 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:18.598 | +0.787s | 19 |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:18.649 | +0.838s | 26 |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:18.776 | +0.965s | 22 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:18.814 | +1.003s | 16 |
| 18 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT | 1:18.828 | +1.017s | 28 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:18.979 | +1.168s | 22 |
| 20 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT | 1:19.156 | +1.345s | 29 |
