Norris fastest in topsy turvy Hungarian FP3

The reigning world champion was one of several drivers who spent time at the top of the timesheets, ending the session with a 1m17.939s to head Lewis Hamilton by 0.117s and Kimi Antonelli by 0.129s.

Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari, while Oscar Piastri finished fifth, 0.499s behind his teammate, with George Russell in sixth and Max Verstappen seventh the only other drivers within one second of Norris’ time.

Norris, Hamilton, Antonelli and Piastri all enjoyed spells at the top of the timesheets, with the session marking the first time all season Mercedes has failed to lead FP3 at a grand prix.

Isack Hadjar finished eighth for Red Bull ahead of Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, while Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10 for Audi.

The session began slowly as teams preserved tyres for qualifying, leaving the circuit empty until Franco Colapinto emerged shortly after the green light.

The Alpine driver was looking to recover lost mileage following his crash at the final corner in FP2 and set the opening benchmark at 1m22.464s before improving to 1m21.747s.

Valtteri Bottas and Hulkenberg soon joined him, with the Audi driver moving to the top on a 1m20.643s as Lance Stroll returned after missing FP2 while Aston Martin repaired his damaged car.

Arvid Lindblad remained in the Racing Bulls garage during the early stages as the team completed what it described as a precautionary power unit change.

Piastri became the first driver below the 1m20s barrier with a 1m19.918s on soft tyres, while Leclerc and Hamilton opened their accounts with laps in the 1m20s.

Norris then moved ahead with a 1m19.062s, with Hadjar splitting the McLarens shortly before Sergio Perez caused the only red flag of the session.

The Cadillac driver had only just left the pit lane when his car appeared to lose power and the rear axle locked, leaving him stopped at Turn 2 without setting a time.

Fernando Alonso was also forced to take evasive action around the same stage as Stroll moved slowly ahead of him approaching Turn 4.

Pierre Gasly, Antonelli and Russell were the first drivers back onto the circuit when running resumed, with the Mercedes pair quickly improving as the leading teams returned to their qualifying preparations.

Verstappen initially moved into third despite encountering traffic, before Leclerc displaced him and Russell climbed to second behind Norris.

Piastri soon took over second, while Norris appeared set to lower his benchmark before losing around eight tenths through the final sector.

Hamilton then edged ahead with a 1m19.053s, only 0.009s faster than Norris, as Verstappen suffered a snap through the final corner which cost him around two tenths.

Hadjar climbed to third despite running wide and striking the kerb at Turn 4, although the Red Bull driver remained unhappy with the behaviour of his car through the opening corners.

“The downshifts are horrific, disgusting in Turn 1 and 2,” Hadjar reported.

Lawson also ran wide at Turn 4 before moving into seventh on medium tyres, with Racing Bulls delaying his switch to softs until the closing stages.

Leclerc produced the first major improvement of the second half of the session, moving to the top with a 1m18.668s on used tyres before Antonelli followed him into second.

Russell suffered a heavy lock-up at Turn 1, while Antonelli fitted fresh softs and set a 1m18.254s after recording the fastest opening two sectors.

Piastri briefly challenged the Mercedes driver after setting the fastest middle sector, but finished 0.210s behind before Norris began his final qualifying simulation.

Norris returned to the front with a 1m18.206s despite failing to achieve a clean exit from Turn 13, while Verstappen lost time in the middle sector and could manage only fourth at that stage.

Hulkenberg switched to soft tyres and moved into ninth, while Alonso briefly climbed to 11th during Aston Martin’s final qualifying runs.

Leclerc closed to within 0.085s of Norris before Hamilton became the latest driver to take first place, setting a 1m18.056s.

Norris responded on his second flying lap with the same set of soft tyres, lowering the benchmark to 1m17.939s and reclaiming the lead by 0.117s.

Antonelli improved to 1m18.068s on his next attempt to secure third, while Leclerc suffered a heavy lock-up at Turn 1 and remained fourth.

Hamilton abandoned another promising lap after struggling to rotate the rear of his Ferrari through the Turn 6 and 7 chicane, while Russell improved to sixth and Verstappen settled for seventh.

Lawson switched to soft tyres late and climbed to ninth, with Hadjar remaining eighth after also finding more time on his final run.

Lindblad finally emerged during the closing minutes and recovered to 13th, splitting Gasly and Colapinto after spending most of the session in the garage.

Gabriel Bortoleto finished 11th ahead of Gasly, with Colapinto 14th followed by Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman, Alonso and Stroll.

Bottas completed the session in 19th ahead of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, while Perez remained at the bottom of the order without a time.

Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix begins at 4pm local time on Saturday (midnight AEST Sunday).

Results: Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, Free Practice 3