George Russell: What Mercedes 'feared' from Ferrari came true in F1 Hungarian GP practice
Ferrari's SF-26 car demonstrated superior performance on the bumpy, slow-cornered Hungaroring track during Friday practice. Mercedes drivers struggled with balance and grip, confirming their pre-weekend fears regarding Ferrari's pace.
Why it matters
Technical analysis of car performance on specific track surfaces provides insight into the competitive dynamics of the current F1 season.
Although Ferrari's drivers were keen to play down expectations ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the SF-26 confirmed its superiority around slower corners on the opening day of Formula 1 track action. Charles Leclerc went fastest in FP1 while team-mate Lewis Hamilton led Leclerc in a Ferrari 1-2 in FP2.
In contrast, both Mercedes drivers reported confidence-sapping balance issues and a lack of overall grip. And they were not alone – others complained about bumps and a poor-quality surface, even though parts of the track have been recently relaid.
"It was quite a strange day out there, I think, for everybody," said George Russell after practice. "Budapest is an amazing track to drive but they've resurfaced half of the track, super bumpy, a lot of it is breaking up around the last couple of corners, which is making it quite strange to drive on.
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