2025 Hungarian GP Oscar Piastri #81 McLaren

F1 News: Superior McLarens of Piastri & Norris bury competition in final practice

The superior Rob Marshall-designed McLaren F1 cars made a mockery of the rest of the teams in final practice for the 2025 Hungarian GP at the Hungaroring.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

F1 points leader Oscar Piastri turned a lap of 1m14.916s to top Practice 3 by 0.032s over his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

The two Ferraris were next up in third and fourth.  Charles ended up 0.399s behind the McLaren of Piastri with Hamilton a massive 0.768s behind the McLaren.

It looks unlikely that Leclerc will finally get a front-row start here, unless one of the two McLarens makes a mistake later on.

Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on August 02, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images)

But Ferrari are in the mix for the second row here, with Leclerc comfortably clear of the field in third. Hamilton improved from yesterday, his set-up tweaks paying dividends. He was fourth, but he was nearly four tenths behind his teammate.

Kimi Antonelli rounded out the top-5 for Mercedes, 0.829s behind Piastri’s McLaren.

The Red Bull RB21 dogs were so slow, Max Verstappen has to question his decision to stay with the Red Bull team for 2026.

Verstappen was a massive 1.246s behind the McLaren in 12th and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda was down in 19th, 1.962s behind Piastri.

Verstappen made a mistake on his last flying run on the softs, but as the wind picked up and the track heated up, the RB21 looked to revert back to its former guise, with balance and understeer an issue.

Related Article:  F1 News: Firing Horner won’t make the Red Bull dog any faster

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing Pierre Wache designed RB21 dog on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on August 02, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Zak Mauger/LAT Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //

So, the top three remain the same drivers as the other practice sessions, but with Piastri beating Norris for the first time this weekend. That was on merit too, with both drivers getting their lap in at the first time of asking on the second set of softs.

2025 Hungarian GP Practice 3 Results

POS. NO. DRIVER TEAM TIME /BEHIND LAPS
1 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1m14.916s 16
2 4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.032s 19
3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.399s 16
4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.768s 17
5 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.829s 17
6 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.878s 18
7 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.912s 21
8 63 George Russell Mercedes +0.924s 16
9 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +1.062s 18
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +1.109s 20
11 87 Oliver Bearman Haas +1.211s 16
12 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +1.246s 18
13 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1.331s 20
14 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.455s 20
15 55 Carlos Sainz Williams +1.526s 18
16 23 Alexander Albon Williams +1.614s 19
17 31 Esteban Ocon Haas +1.615s 17
18 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.654s 22
19 22 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +1.962s 19
20 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +2.040s 17