Carlos Sainz topped the timesheets in the first free practice for the Hungarian GP, with Ferrari opening the weekend ahead of Red Bull.
Carlos Sainz topped the timesheets in the first free practice for the Hungarian GP, with Ferrari opening the weekend ahead of Red Bull.
Sainz turned in a best lap of 1'18.750 on the soft compound and finished 0.130s ahead of Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc was third, 0.289s behind his teammate.
Behind the Ferrari and Red Bull machines, Lando Norris was the "best of the rest". The McLaren car is expected to adapt well to the tight, twisty track.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and seventh, respectively, separated by Sergio Perez - who hit traffic on a fast lap at the end.
There was a small scare for Russell in the final minutes, when his engineer asked him to take his foot off due to overheating concerns.
Zhou Guanyu was the fastest Alfa Romeo in 15th. Robert Kubica, test and reserve driver, replaced Valtteri Bottas in another TL1 and was 19th.
Williams continued collecting data with the updated cars of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi in 16th and 20th. Kubica and the Haas duo were between them.
Kevin Magnussen ended the session one tenth ahead of Mick Schumacher. The Dane had his first experience with the large upgrade package of the VF-22.
Result of the first free practice:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Diff. | Laps |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:18.750 | 25 | |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull RBPT | 1:18.880 | +0.130s | 23 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:19.039 | +0.289s | 25 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:19.299 | +0.549s | 20 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:19.606 | +0.856s | 27 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull RBPT | 1:19.622 | +0.872s | 23 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:19.710 | +0.960s | 24 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren Mercedes | 1:19.841 | +1.091s | 27 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1:20.348 | +1.598s | 29 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine Renault | 1:20.377 | +1.627s | 26 |
| 11 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin Mercedes | 1:20.383 | +1.633s | 25 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes | 1:20.414 | +1.664s | 24 |
| 13 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri RBPT | 1:20.456 | +1.706s | 27 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri RBPT | 1:20.695 | +1.945s | 26 |
| 15 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 1:20.810 | +2.060s | 22 |
| 16 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:20.834 | +2.084s | 27 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:20.921 | +2.171s | 23 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas Ferrari | 1:21.027 | +2.277s | 24 |
| 19 | Robert Kubica | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 1:21.179 | +2.429s | 19 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 1:21.413 | +2.663s | 26 |