Mercedes encountered a challenging opening day of practice at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix, with both George Russell and championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli struggling for performance. The team concluded Friday’s sessions at the Hungaroring searching for solutions to improve the W17’s pace.
In Free Practice 1, Charles Leclerc set the fastest time for Ferrari, followed by Max Verstappen and teammate Lewis Hamilton. George Russell placed fifth for Mercedes, while Frederik Vesti, substituting for Antonelli, finished seventh.
The second practice session saw Lewis Hamilton top the timesheets, leading a Ferrari one-two with Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris secured third for McLaren. Russell finished FP2 in fifth position, nearly a second off Hamilton’s pace.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, returning to his car for FP2, placed 13th, almost two seconds behind the leading Ferrari. He reported difficulties with rear brake locking and aborted several qualifying simulations during the session.
Russell described the W17 as ‘unpredictable’ through the Hungaroring’s slower corners. He cited a lack of front-end grip and persistent oversteer as primary concerns for the Mercedes car.
The resurfaced Hungaroring track surface also presented challenges, with Russell noting it was ‘super bumpy’ in places. This contributed to higher than expected tyre degradation and affected the car’s ride.
Mercedes’ Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord acknowledged a ‘lack of grip and balance in the qualifying trim’. He stated that getting the tyres into their optimal operating window for a single flying lap proved difficult.
Despite the single-lap struggles, Lord indicated that Mercedes demonstrated a consistent and competitive pace during longer runs. This suggests potential for improvement once the setup issues are addressed.
Antonelli currently leads the 2026 Drivers’ Championship with 204 points, holding a 45-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton. Russell is third in the standings with 154 points, 50 points behind his teammate.
Earlier this season, Russell experienced power unit deployment issues in Belgium and Silverstone due to incorrect calibration. Mercedes confirmed these issues were resolved ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The team now faces an intensive period of data analysis overnight to prepare the W17 for Saturday’s qualifying session. Ferrari appears to hold a significant advantage on single-lap pace.
