The soft tyres are being bolted on now, so what can the likes of George Russell, Max Verstappen nd Lando Norris do?

Mercedes Russell is purple in the final two sectors of the Hungaroring and he goes quickest - the two Ferraris haven't appeared yet - with a 1:20.066.

Can Norris beat him? No, because the world champion aborts his lap after running wide at Turn 11.

Verstappen is up next and as he crosses the line, he goes half a second faster than Russell.

Image source, Reuters

While George Russell sits fourth on the FP1 timesheets, Kimi Antonelli is watching on from the pit wall during this session as rookie Fred Vesti takes his Mercedes out for a spin. The Italian teenager is 50 points ahead of his team-mate Russell before this weekend's 70-lap contest in Budapest.

For Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton doesn't have good feedback for his Scuderia pit wall. "The car feels pretty bad," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell has dusted himself down and is ready to hop back on the title scrap express this weekend after his car troubles and crash out at Spa-Francorchamps last week.

Russell, who was 25 points off Kimi Antonelli before the Belgian Grand Prix, said he was "numb to the disappointment" after walking away empty handed following his latest setback. In his radio message, which had a few naughty words in it, Russell said deployment issues had been "unacceptable" all weekend.

But with a few days reflection, Russell said on Thursday: "I definitely feel this is the most resilient I've ever been in my whole life. I take pride in that as my mentality on the outside of the car.

"I guess it's because I still believe in myself and the team, even when everything looks against us. I've been in this position a couple of times this season, and then managed to bounce back and get a good result, or two.

"The run from Monaco to Silverstone, I took strides forward, It was a step back, but I'm still closer today than I was four races ago, and not even halfway through (the season) yet.

"There's still a lot of things I need to work on myself."

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:20.287

2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.326

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.501

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.556

5. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1.170

Image source, Reuters

Max Verstappen has also been noted for driving erractically in that incident with Carlos Sainz, as the Dutchman did hit the brakes on his Red Bull in frustration at the Williams driver's actions.

Ferrari have been pinned as the team to watch this weekend, as Hungary's 'Monaco without the walls" layout is likely to work in their favour. Charles Leclerc has returned to the top of the timesheets, with Lewis Hamilton pushing Max Verstappen down into third after his latest flying lap.

The gap between the two Scuderia drivers, who are both on a set of medium tyres, is 0.326 seconds. Time to beat is 1:20.287.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at the Hungaroring

Fernando Alonso is on the hard tyre and is 'only' - in inverted commas - 2.4 seconds off the pace. It's a massive step forward from anywhere they've been for a long time. We don't want to get carried away but it does suggest at this very early stage that this car is a step forward.

Image source, Reuters

With a raft of upgardes for Aston Martin this weekend, have Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll moved up the order yet? They have. Spanird Alonso is ninth on the timesheets and Canadian Stroll is running in 11th place, the two drivers taking the hard compound in the opening stages.

Thank you, Tim and Lee. If you want to get involved with us over the course of the Hungarian Grand Prix, just send your thoughts by selecting the 'get involved' button on the live page.

The medium and hard tyres are getting some early laps on the board at the Hungaroring but Max Verstappen has spotted some dangerous positioning from the Williams of Carlos Sainz on the racing line on his push lap. Spaniard Sainz then calls his pit wall to say he's lost all radio communication.

And now the stewards have noted Sainz for driving erractically.

Over at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton loses the rear of his car at the final corner and twitches as he completes his latest lap. Scuderia team-mate Charles Leclerc was quickest but now Max Verstappen has gone top with a 1:20.788 on the mediums.

Image source, Getty Images

The lack of straights and multiple corners at the Hungaroring could give Ferrari a shot at a third race win this season after victories for Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona in June and Charles Leclerc at Silverstone earlier this month.

Hamilton has jumped back up to second in the drivers' championship with four podiums in the past six races and with eight wins in Hungary under his belt already, a record-extending ninth victory would cap off a positive first half of the season.

But the seven-time world champion said he didn't "want to make assumptions" when asked by 5 Live's Jennie Gow if he thinks he can take the chequered flag at this go-kart-style track on Sunday.

"We went to a couple of races where, I mean, ultimately, we should have won the last two races," said Hamilton. "I think if we had perfected the weekend, and the car was able to have won. Obviously in Silverstone, it was capable of winning.

"And then in Spa, we were a lot more competitive than we thought. And so I missed something on that weekend. And that's not what I want to do this weekend."

Abbi Pulling
2024 F1 Academy champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

It is an unforgiving circuit and if you make a mistake, it leads into the next two or three corners, You need to be very tidy and precise in what you're doing.

The softest tyres in the Pirelli range have been selected for this weekend's Hunagrian Grand Prix, with the C3 as the hard, C4 as the medium and C5 as the soft. The Italian supplier says this is the ideal selection "for a slow track where traction and braking stability are crucial to tackle direction changes".

With temperatures set to be high across the three days of action, and limited places for drivers to overtake, keeping those compounds in check will play a key role in the 70-lap race.

The Hungaroring has also been spruced up over the last two years, with Turns One and 12 resurfaced for this season's race, following last year’s work on the pit lane and starting grid.

The weather looks pleasant in Hungary for this Friday practice session, so let's crack on.

FP1 is green.

BBC Sounds

Jennie Gow, Alice Powell, Abbi Pulling and Andrew Benson are with us for first practice today.

To listen to commentary, you can either click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page, head over to the BBC Sounds app and search for Sports Extra if you're heading out or you can ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra".

Image source, Getty Images

Five teams are running rookies for first practice at the Hungaroring today, with the likes of championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri making way during the opening session.

The rules mandate every main driver must make way for a rookie with no more than two grands prix starts in two practice sessions across the season.

American Colton Herta is back for Cadillac following his FP1 debut at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix six weeks ago while Paul Aron has returned to Alpine after his loan stint with Audi in Spain and Austria.

Mercedes

Fred Vesti replaces Kimi Antonelli

McLaren

Leonardo Fornaroli replaces Oscar Piastri

Alpine

Paul Aron replaces Franco Colapinto

Haas

Ryo Hirakawa replaces Oliver Bearman

Cadillac

Colton Herta replaces Valtteri Bottas

Image source, Getty Images

After the Hungarian Grand Prix, while he's on holiday enjoying the start of the summer break, Fernando Alonso will be celebrating his 45th birthday on 29 July.

What does the future hold for the two-time world champion? On Thursday, he said he was committed to Aston Martin for the long term whether he stays in Formula 1 as a driver or not.

"I have a pretty clear picture of the team that we will fix all the problems," Alonso said.

"They take time but I have no doubts Adrian [Newey, Aston Martin chief technical officer] will provide the best car on the grid sooner or later. I would like to see the first steps with this package.

"And the PU (power unit), I have no doubts, it is a matter of time before Honda fixes the issues."

Alonso has given his honest opinions about the 2026 regulations - the biggest overhaul in the sport's history - and said the direction F1 has taken this year "is not the same adrenaline I had before from an F1 car".

"It is a problem (as to whether) F1 gives me the adrenaline I need to live," the Spaniard added.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at the Hungaroring

And here it is.

Basically everything is new on the upgraded Aston Martin except the front suspension, engine and the gearbox.

Image source, Andrew Benson

Image source, Andrew Benson

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at the Hungaroring

Image source, Getty Images

Fernando Alonso says he is "optimistic" about the major upgrade Aston Martin are introducing at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but has cautioned against expecting too much.

Aston Martin are introducing a heavily revised car, which features less weight, including a new chassis, and a significant aerodynamic change.

It is their first upgrade of the year after starting the season with a car and engine well below the best.

Alonso said: "Budapest is a friendly circuit for us. Power is not the most important here, but we update the car and not the engine yet.

"I am more into the weekend, understanding the direction of the car, if we are in a good path and we can unlock finally the performance."

Aston Martin have chosen to introduce their new parts all in one go rather than the more usual tactic of drip-feeding smaller upgrades over a number of races.

This was done as the team decided it was the most efficient use of their budget within the sport's spending cap.

But it means Aston Martin have progressively fallen further behind the field.

The Honda engine is not changing this weekend - the Japanese company is taking a development engine to the next race, the Dutch Grand Prix, after Formula 1's four-week summer break.

Read the full story here

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes' lead at the top of the constructors' championship has dipped slightly after the Belgian Grand Prix to 73 points following George Russell's retirement and both Scuderia drivers being in the points at Spa.

In the midfield fight, fifth-placed Alpine and Racing Bulls in sixth both had drivers finish in the top 10 last week, so now the two teams are level on 61 points heading into the fnal race before the summer shutdown.

Audi also sealed four points thanks to Gabriel Bortoleto's P8 and are right behind Williams for that eighth spot in the standings.

Image source, Getty Images

Kimi Antonelli's sixth win of the season has boosted the young Italian's drivers' championship advantage back up to a healthy 45 points from second-placed Lewis Hamilton and 50 points from team-mate George Russell in third.

Another podium finish for Charles Leclerc takes the Ferrari driver 23 points clear of world champion Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen's third spot in Belgium means he's only one point away from Australian Oscar Piastri in sixth.