Third free practice for Round 13 of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Hungarian Grand Prix, concluded at the Hungaroring in the early evening of 20 July China time (UTC+8). McLaren took the top two positions: Lando Norris led with 1m16.098s, with Oscar Piastri just 0.044s behind. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third, 0.281s off the pace. Yuki Tsunoda followed his RB team-mate Daniel Ricciardo on the timesheet in ninth.
Compared with Friday’s 60°C track surface, cloud cover over the Hungaroring on Saturday brought the temperature down to 40°C, with similar conditions expected for qualifying. Sunday’s race was expected to be hot again, however, so teams were wary of making major setup changes. The session focused on collecting qualifying tyre data and confirming the balance. Most drivers used soft tyres for repeated short runs, while Red Bull and Aston Martin, both bringing extensive upgrades, took a different approach. Red Bull ran long stints on the hardest compound, the hard tyre, and Aston Martin used mediums, only switching to softs for qualifying simulations towards the end.
Verstappen had a small rear-end slide at Turn 10, then locked up at Turn 1 on his second flying lap and could not complete it, finishing third, almost three tenths behind McLaren. Perez was only 13th, possibly after being affected by traffic. Ricciardo set the sixth-fastest time. Although Tsunoda reported that “the shifts are very harsh, it feels as though the gears aren’t engaging”, he remained just 0.092s behind his team-mate in ninth. Only 0.18s separated fourth-placed Russell from Tsunoda. The two RBs, along with Albon and Hulkenberg, left Hamilton and Leclerc down in 10th and 11th, suggesting the possibility of surprises in Q2.
Sauber’s Bottas impressed in 12th, but Zhou Guanyu encountered a hydraulic problem late in the session and was instructed to return slowly to the garage. Alpine continued to struggle. Gasly also locked up at Turn 1, complained of “a problem with the front brakes” and finished only 18th, while Ocon was last.
Qualifying was scheduled for 22:00 China time (UTC+8) that evening.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time / Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:16.098 | 17 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.044 | 17 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.281 | 27 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.466 | 15 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.541 | 16 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | +0.554 | 15 |
| 7 | Alex Albon | Williams | +0.563 | 16 |
| 8 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +0.598 | 15 |
| 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | +0.646 | 16 |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.688 | 14 |
| 11 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.705 | 17 |
| 12 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +0.706 | 20 |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.856 | 25 |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.903 | 21 |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.987 | 22 |
| 16 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +1.070 | 15 |
| 17 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | +1.193 | 15 |
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.401 | 15 |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1.409 | 17 |
| 20 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.477 | 16 |
