Leclerc tops FP1 ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton but experiences car issue

The two former world champions, Verstappen and Hamilton, finished around half a second behind Leclerc. Isack Hadjar set the fourth-fastest time, while George Russell completed the top five, finishing a second adrift of the Ferrari driver.

Lando Norris only set the 11th-fastest time, but the defending world champion made a mistake entering the final sector on his best lap at the Hungaroring.

This weekend, a total of five teams opted to field a 'young driver' in FP1. Last year's Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli replaced Oscar Piastri, Frederik Vesti drove Kimi Antonelli's car, Paul Aron stood in for Franco Colapinto, Colton Herta replaced Valtteri Bottas, and Ryo Hirakawa stepped into Oliver Bearman's car.

The drivers were eager to hit the track, with every team except Alpine bringing updates to this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix. A few minutes into the session, Carlos Sainz was driving slowly ahead of Verstappen, forcing the Dutchman to take avoiding action. The stewards will investigate the Williams driver for driving erratically after FP1.

Twenty minutes into FP1, Leclerc led the way on the medium tyres with a 1:20.2, ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen. The Briton, in particular, struggled on the medium compound and with the car's setup early on at a circuit where he has already won eight times.

With 22 minutes remaining in the session, Lance Stroll was forced to stop his updated Aston Martin on track due to a suspension failure. The Canadian did well to avoid hitting the wall after suddenly losing control in Turn 3.

After the first laps on the soft tyres were completed, Leclerc set the pace with a 1:19.0. He was considerably quicker than Verstappen and Hamilton. However, with seven minutes remaining, the Monegasque's car came to a halt in front of the FIA's weighing scales. 'Something broke,' Leclerc reported over the team radio.