Piastri returns fire as McLaren dominate Hungarian GP FP3

After Lando Norris pipped teammate Oscar Piastri in both sessions on Friday, it was the Australian’s turn to strike on Saturday, blitzing the field with a 1m14.916s to top the timesheets.

It marked the first time of the weekend to dip below the 1m15s mark — and was three tenths quicker than the pole time set last year by Norris.

Norris couldn’t quite match his teammate this time, missing out by just 0.032s.

As on Friday, Charles Leclerc was the only other driver within half a second of the McLaren pair, finishing 0.399s behind Piastri for Ferrari. Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton was next, though he trailed by 0.768s, with every driver from ninth onward over a second off the pace.

Adding further pain for the chasing pack was the fact both McLaren drivers left time on the table, each making small errors on their best laps — a sign that there could be even more performance to come later in qualifying.

While Ferrari again look best of the rest, the battle behind them remains tight.

Kimi Antonelli posted an impressive late lap to go fifth for Mercedes, ahead of the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

After a promising Friday, both Aston Martins appear genuinely competitive this weekend and will be targeting a strong points haul following a tough 2025 so far.

Also pushing for a solid qualifying result are George Russell and the Sauber pair of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg, who rounded out the top ten.

It was a particularly encouraging session for Sauber after both drivers suffered issues in FP1, with the team now seemingly back on track for a strong weekend.

Outside the top ten, it was a challenging session for the Red Bull-backed teams — especially for Max Verstappen, who struggled throughout and could only manage 12th.

His teammate Yuki Tsunoda also endured a difficult session, expressing frustration over handling issues and ending up second last — just ahead of Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar.

Hadjar had a frustrating run, complaining about traffic multiple times before spinning at the final corner after clipping the inside curb too aggressively, bringing out double yellow flags.

Liam Lawson also had a tough outing, finishing 14th.

With temperatures expected to remain high, attention now turns to qualifying — and whether Piastri or Norris will emerge on top when it matters most.

Qualifying begins at 4pm local time (12am AEST).