F1: Hamilton tops final practice for Hungarian GP

After sandbagging on Friday, Lewis Hamilton turned it on and set the fastest time in the final practice for the Hungarian GP.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Teammate George Russell sat on pole here last year, and Hamilton is looking strong for the Black/Silver Arrows once again with a lap of 1m17.811s in his #44 Mercedes.

Last year’s Hungarian GP winner Max Verstappen was 0.250s behind in his #1 Red Bull Honda and just ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez in third.

#44 Lewis Hamilton, (GRB) AMG Mercedes Ineos during the Hungarian GP, Budapest 20-23 July 2023 at the Hungaroring, Formula 1 World championship 2023.

Nico Hulkenberg was a sensational 4th for Hass, and Lando Norris might be the favorite for pole in 5th.

Norris set his fast time on the medium tires and was just 0.271s behind in his #4 McLaren.

Final Practice Results

POS	DRIVER	NAT.	TEAM	TIME
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m17.811s
2	Max Verstappen	NED	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1m18.061s
3	Sergio Perez	MEX	Oracle Bull Racing	1m18.067s
4	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1m18.077s
5	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1m18.082s
6	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m18.119s
7	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari	1m18.190s
8	Carlos Sainz Jr.	ESP	Scuderia Ferrari	1m18.234s
9	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant	1m18.350s
10	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake	1m18.489s
11	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant	1m18.536s
12	Zhou Guanyu	CHN	Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake	1m18.544s
13	Alex Albon	THA	Williams Racing	1m18.592s
14	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1m18.598s
15	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1m18.649s
16	Pierre Gasly	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m18.776s
17	Logan Sargeant	USA	Williams Racing	1m18.814s
18	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Scuderia AlphaTauri	1m18.828s
19	Esteban Ocon	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m18.979s
20	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Scuderia AlphaTauri	1m19.156s