Leclerc leads TL2 with Norris second at Hungaroring

Charles Leclerc ensured that Ferrari led both Friday practice sessions for the Hungarian GP, setting the pace in TL2. Having led the laps on medium tires, Leclerc set a time of 1min18s445 when he switched to soft tires to maintain his place at the top of the timesheets.

Instead of teammate Carlos Sainz - who set the pace in TL1 - or Red Bull rival Max Verstappen, it was McLaren's Lando Norris who finished as Leclerc's closest challenger.

Norris took advantage of his encouraging showing in opening practice to finish just over two-tenths off Leclerc, splitting the Ferraris in the process. Sainz lamented traffic after finishing third, describing Williams driver Nicholas Latifi as a "stupid guy" for compromising his soft shoe effort.

F1 title holder and championship leader Verstappen finished fourth, with Daniel Ricciardo also staying in the top five to complete a strong first day for McLaren.

While McLaren mixed with the leaders, the Mercedes drivers failed to impress when the pace picked up at the Hungaroring. George Russell finished the day eighth, almost a second off the pace, behind Fernando Alonso's Alpine and Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin.

Russell reported that "the overall grip seems very poor," before wondering "what the hell is going on at turn 1," where he "couldn't turn the corner without braking."

Lewis Hamilton was a few tenths behind in the other Mercedes (P11), having also been surprised by his 1s9 deficit to Leclerc on the first laps on medium tires.

Sergio Perez had another quiet session, finishing more than half a second behind teammate Verstappen in ninth, with Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas completing the top 10.

In a quiet session, Alex Albon survived a wild spin in his Williams at turn 1, although he ruined a set of soft tires in the process.

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