Lewis Hamilton is not backing down. The veteran driver clocked a 1:18.729 lap time on Friday afternoon to secure the lead in the second practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc trailed him by just 0.148 seconds. That locked in a commanding 1-2 finish for Ferrari as the weekend gets underway.
Lando Norris managed to put his McLaren in third, though he sat nearly half a second behind the blistering Ferrari pace. Max Verstappen pushed his Red Bull into fourth place. George Russell rounded out the top five for Mercedes.
What happens when the current championship leader loses his grip? Kimi Antonelli found out the hard way. The Mercedes driver tumbled down the timing sheets to finish in 13th place. Antonelli told reporters he “almost spun twice on braking” during the session. He currently holds a 45-point lead over Hamilton in the active driver standings, but that cushion looks suddenly vulnerable if Mercedes can’t fix their setup.
The session didn’t run entirely clean.
Williams driver Franco Colapinto triggered a brief red flag stoppage after spinning into the barriers at the final corner. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll sat out the entire afternoon. His Aston Martin crew spent the session frantically repairing rear suspension damage sustained earlier in the day.
If you tune into the race on Sunday, keep your eyes on Turn 2. Track officials recently renamed that specific corner after Hamilton to mark the venue’s 40th anniversary. He is currently attempting to secure his ninth career victory at the Hungaroring. A win this weekend would equal his own Formula One record for the most victories at a single track.