Mercedes ended the opening day of the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix outside the top times, but the team took heart from its long-run pace on a freshly resurfaced Hungaroring. George Russell was fifth in both sessions, reserve driver Fred Vesti impressed with seventh in FP1, and Kimi Antonelli returned for FP2 in P13. Ferrari, however, looked the class of the field heading into the final weekend before the summer break.
Mercedes opened the last Grand Prix weekend before Formula 1’s summer break with a mixed but promising Friday at the Hungaroring. The team was not at the top of the timing screens, yet it left the circuit believing there was plenty to build on overnight.
A strong day for the reserve driver
Reserve driver Fred Vesti took over Kimi Antonelli’s car for FP1, his second free-practice outing of the season. He completed his full programme and ended the hour seventh, one place behind team-mate George Russell in fifth.
For the second session Antonelli was back behind the wheel, finishing 13th after his soft-tyre run was interrupted by a red flag. Russell was fifth again, with Ferrari pair Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc setting the pace over a single fast lap.
Long runs the brighter side
According to the team, the real interest lay in the long runs, where high tyre degradation across the field produced a more competitive picture for Mercedes than the low-fuel qualifying simulations suggested. A recent resurfacing of the track left it bumpy in places, driving tyre wear higher than expected and making balance hard to find.
Russell said the day had felt awkward for everyone, adding that while the single-lap pace did not look strong, the long run was more competitive. He warned that Ferrari appeared clearly ahead and would be hard to beat, something the team had anticipated before the weekend.
Antonelli described a difficult first day, explaining that he had skipped FP1 and struggled with the balance on his return in FP2, abandoning his first flying lap for the red flag and failing to complete the next while stuck in traffic with locking rear wheels. He said the long run went better and that the team had gathered plenty of data to analyse overnight ahead of a crucial FP3.
Vesti, back in the W17 for the first time since Barcelona, called it a positive session in which he felt comfortable and completed every planned task.
What the engineers made of it
Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin praised Vesti’s contribution while acknowledging the wider challenge.
Fred put in a really strong second outing in the W17 today. It is not easy to go months without driving the car and then have to deliver with only a few laps to get up to speed. Seventh is a very solid result.
Shovlin said the car had started FP1 outside its working window with poor rear grip, and that an initial setup change went the wrong way before the team found a direction for the long run. Extensive mechanical changes before FP2 brought the W17 into a better window, though he admitted the single-lap pace still needed work and that it had probably been the team’s toughest Friday of the year for low-fuel performance.
Attention now turns to FP3 and qualifying on Saturday, where Mercedes hopes a better balance can bring it closer to the front.
Facts: Mercedes at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix (Friday)
- FP1: George Russell 5th, Fred Vesti 7th (in Antonelli’s car)
- FP2: George Russell 5th, Kimi Antonelli 13th
- Circuit: Hungaroring, Budapest — recently resurfaced
- Car: Mercedes-AMG W17
- Note: FP2 pace set by Ferrari’s Hamilton and Leclerc
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com