Hamilton looks to pressure Antonelli at Hungarian GP as Ferrari leads practice

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari have a chance to pile pressure on Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before F1's summer break, with the Scuderia topping both practice sessions on Friday, as [reported by AP News](https://apnews.com/article/f1-hungary-preview-bd38c9ec308e4873337b81e78e61c674).

"I think we've got a car that can compete," Hamilton said this week. "Mercedes is still the car to beat, and they won't be easy to beat this weekend, but I do think we've made subtle progress. Hopefully we can be fighting with them this weekend."

Hamilton set the fastest time of the day, beating Leclerc by 0.148 seconds in the second session, with Lando Norris a distant third for McLaren. George Russell was the best Mercedes in fifth and Antonelli only 13th in a session interrupted by a red flag when Franco Colapinto spun into a barrier.

"Still a lot of work to do, still a mountain to climb in the second half of the season, but I'm more focused than ever and really believe that we can fight," Hamilton added.

Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta confirmed the team has identified and fixed the software bug that caused Russell's sudden pace loss in Belgium: "We think we've finally understood it and nailed it coming into Budapest."

The slow, winding Hungaroring layout should not present the same electrical energy deployment issues seen at Spa, making for a more traditional race. However, Budapest has traditionally hosted processional races with few overtaking spots, and Sunday's race will test whether the 2026-spec cars and their battery-boosted overtaking can bring the often-dull race to life.

Sources

• AP News