Lewis Hamilton set the pace in second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, leading a Ferrari one-two at a slippery and wind-affected Hungaroring.
Hamilton’s best lap of 1m18.729s edged out Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc by just 0.148 seconds at the end of a chaotic and disrupted session.
Cooler track temperatures and strong gusts of wind made finding a stable car balance extremely difficult for all ten teams across the 4.381km circuit.
Parts of the Hungaroring were also covered in brand-new tarmac, adding further uncertainty to an already tricky afternoon for drivers and engineers alike.
Ferrari looked well-suited to the changed conditions early on, with Hamilton and Leclerc both running competitively during the medium-tyre phase of the session.
McLaren’s Lando Norris went purple on his soft-tyre run but narrowly avoided a spin at the final corner, ultimately finishing third, 0.499 seconds behind Hamilton.
Max Verstappen took fourth for Red Bull, while George Russell could only manage fifth for Mercedes after reporting a “dreadful” rear balance throughout the afternoon.
The session was interrupted by a red flag when Alpine’s Franco Colapinto lost the rear of his car at the final corner and tagged the barriers, bringing the session to a halt.
Kimi Antonelli had been in the middle of his qualifying simulation lap when the red flag was triggered, leaving the championship leader unable to replicate a clean effort and finishing 13th.
Antonelli’s troubles were compounded by a rear locking issue that was not resolved after the restart, with a slide through the Turn 6 chicane ruining his subsequent attempt.
Isack Hadjar took sixth for Red Bull ahead of Liam Lawson, who continued Racing Bulls’ strong recent run of form to claim seventh place.
Oscar Piastri finished eighth for McLaren, with Nico Hulkenberg ninth for Audi and Arvid Lindblad rounding out the top ten for Racing Bulls.
Pierre Gasly finished 14th for Alpine, having complained throughout the session that something felt fundamentally wrong with the behaviour of his car.
Aston Martin endured a difficult day on both fronts, with Fernando Alonso finishing 19th as the team focused on understanding its heavily upgraded package rather than chasing outright lap time.
Lance Stroll suffered a rear suspension failure in FP1 and was unable to take any part in FP2, leaving Aston Martin with limited data heading into Saturday.