Lando Lights It Up in FP1!
Packed Stands and Early Incidents: Formula1 Weekend Begins in Hungary
The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend at the Hungaroring kicked off with a full house by Friday morning, the grandstands were already packed. Formula 1 enjoys immense popularity in Hungary, and the event continues to attract large numbers of visiting fans year after year.
The opening free practice session featured two driver substitutions. At Sauber, junior driver Paul Aron took the wheel in place of Nico Hülkenberg. Meanwhile, Aston Martin opted to give Fernando Alonso additional time to recover from a back injury, temporarily handing his seat to reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.
As is often the case at the tight and twisty Hungaroring, grip levels on Friday were far from ideal. Teams focused on aerodynamic testing and dialing in optimal setups for a circuit where high downforce is essential. Many cars took to the track covered in flow-vis paint to help visualize airflow patterns.
Pierre Gasly encountered technical issues early in the session, experiencing a drop in engine power that forced him to return to the garage and miss nearly half an hour of running. He was able to rejoin the action later on.
Aron also suffered mechanical trouble — at the request of his engineers, he stopped the car in a safe zone due to a suspected power unit failure. A brief Virtual Safety Car period was deployed to allow marshals to recover the car.
Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton all ran off track at various points during the session but escaped without damage.
Lando Norris set the fastest lap of the session with a time of 1:16.062 — just 0.02 seconds quicker than his McLaren teammate.
