Oscar Piastri edged out team-mate Lando Norris to top final practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix as the battle between the McLaren duo ramped up ahead of qualifying.
Having finished second to Norris in both of Friday’s sessions, world championship leader Piastri turned the tables on his team-mate to strike the first blow on Saturday by a margin of just three hundredths of a second.
In what is fast becoming a two-horse race for the drivers’ title between the McLaren pair, Piastri holds a 16-point lead over Norris going into the final race before the summer break on Sunday.
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Piastri’s time of 1:14.916 was more than three tenths quicker than Norris’ pole effort in Budapest last year, highlighting the incredible level of performance the runaway Constructors’ Championship leaders are consistently producing in 2025.
Ferrari were the best of the rest as Charles Leclerc finished four tenths behind Piastri in third. Lewis Hamilton took fourth but remained significantly off the pace of his team-mate with three tenths separating them.
Max Verstappen’s pursuit of a fifth successive world championship looks set to suffer another blow as a tough weekend for Red Bull appeared to worsen with the Dutchman only 12th and his struggling team-mate Yuki Tsunoda 19th.
Verstappen, who finally confirmed on Thursday that he intends to stay at Red Bull for the 2026 season, already trails Piastri by 81 points in the drivers’ standings.
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Kimi Antonelli took fifth to outperform his Mercedes team-mate George Russell in eighth, with the Brit surprisingly trailing Aston Martin duo Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10 as the in-form squad appeared well placed to extend a streak of five successive grand prix weekends at which they’ve scored points.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment of the session came when Isack Hadjar narrowly avoided a shunt with the barrier as the Racing Bulls driver just about got his car back under control after spinning in the final sector.
Red Bull have often struggled in practice before Verstappen has found remarkable improvement in qualifying, but team principal Laurent Mekies – overseeing just his second race since replacing Christian Horner – admitted his squad are up against it.
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In a post-session interview, Mekies told Sky Sports F1: “We have been struggling since yesterday. It’s been very difficult to put the car in the right window to give Max and Yuki the right feeling.
“We have tried a number of things to turn the car around but I have to say, it’s the same sort of feeling today and [we are] not finding the grip overall.
“Uncomfortable but the sort of situation where you learn some things, so we are trying to do quite a few tests to understand where the limitations are.”
Red Bull’s struggles – if they persist – will ultimately be something of a sideshow as Piastri and Norris share another battle, which the lack of margin between them means will likely come down to which driver is able to deliver the cleanest lap come the closing stages of Q3.
Sky Sports F1’s Hungarian GP Schedule
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Saturday August 2
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying*
Sunday August 3
7.25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Hungarian GP build-up*
2pm: The HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Hungarian GP reaction
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Budapest at the Hungarian Grand Prix for the final race before the sport’s summer break, watch live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. For Sky customers, Sky Sports F1 is now found on channel 407. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime