FP3: Piastri tops the timesheets ahead of Norris and Leclerc in busy final practice in Hungary

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri set the pace in the final practice hour for the Hungarian Grand Prix, narrowly heading his team mate Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

As teams shifted their focus to honing set-ups ahead of Qualifying this afternoon, the McLaren duo were two of the first to head out onto the track, hoping to reinforce their hold on P1 and P2 established in the earlier practice sessions.

They quickly returned to the pits without completing a full timed lap, paving the way for a somewhat slow start to the hour – it wasn’t until the 45-minute mark that the Qualifying preparations properly kicked off.

Yuki Tsunoda, whose Red Bull had flow-viz paint around the diffuser, initially went fastest on a set of medium tyres before he was heard complaining over the radio about oversteer. His team mate Max Verstappen, who struggled in Friday's running, then set a benchmark of 1m 16.547s on softs but this was rapidly displaced by George Russell and Charles Leclerc.

As expected, the top three was shaken up once the McLarens returned to set their own competitive times with Piastri snatching the top spot, albeit around six-tenths slower than Norris’ effort in yesterday’s FP2 session. The Briton, meanwhile, could only manage P5 on his first attempt.

Soon after, Ferrari’s Leclerc was on a flying lap and was purple in sectors one and two, but an error at Turn 12 saw him dip his left rear wheel in the gravel trap and lose a small amount of time – it was nevertheless still quick enough for P1, before Piastri went clear by 0.266s.

Further down the order, Kick Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto continued his superb recent form over one lap as he settled into sixth position, just under four-tenths adrift of the Australian’s fastest time in the McLaren.

It was a different story for fellow midfield driver Alex Albon who, at the halfway point of the hour, found himself at the bottom of the timesheets and advised his team to check the floor after he rattled over the kerbs.

As the clock ticked down, some teams elected to carry out long runs on the medium tyres rather than continuing their Qualifying simulations, causing some traffic issues for those still on fast single laps – Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar directly picked out Norris and claimed that “he doesn’t know how to let by someone”.

The track cleared as many drivers reset ahead of their final laps, allowing Piastri to make the most of the clear air and break into the 1m 14s. His team mate then found a remarkable amount of time in the last sector and ended just 0.032s slower than Piastri’s lap.

Others’ push laps didn’t quite go to plan – Hadjar spun into a run-off area and momentarily brought out the yellow flags, and Verstappen reported: “You try to fix the rear and it ploughs into understeer”, echoing a struggle shared by many of the drivers.

A much-improved Lewis Hamilton finished the session in fourth, with Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso, who bounced back from a back injury earlier in the weekend, claiming the rest of the top-six positions.

Lance Stroll was seventh, ending an encouraging hour for Aston Martin, followed by Russell and the Sauber pair of Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. In another tricky practice hour, Verstappen took P12 just behind Haas’ Ollie Bearman, leading Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz.

Albon, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, a frustrated Tsunoda, and Hadjar brought up the rear and will be seeking improvements ahead of the crucial Qualifying hour at the Hungaroring, set to get underway at 1600 local time.