Charles Leclerc, Ferrari driver, set the fastest time in the first practice session of the Hungarian Grand Prix, part of the Formula 1 World Championship, on Friday, beating his nearest rival by nearly half a second.

The Monaco-born driver posted a time of one minute and 19.075 seconds at the Hungaroring, before ending his first practice session participation 7 minutes before the finish after telling his team via the internal communication loop that 'something broke' in the car.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull driver, came second with a gap of 0.484 seconds, and faces appearing before the race stewards due to being accused of driving in an irregular manner, while Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari driver, finished third, 0.543 seconds behind his teammate.

Hamilton expressed dissatisfaction with his car's performance, and said via the team's internal communication loop: 'Things are very bad. The car is very uncomfortable to drive. The suspension stiffness settings are too extreme.'

Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader and Mercedes driver, missed this session, so Danish reserve driver Frederik Vesti participated in his place, finishing in seventh, while George Russell came fifth, 0.991 seconds behind Leclerc.

Antonelli will return to participate in the second practice session, and leads Hamilton by 45 points in the overall standings after 10 rounds.

Lando Norris, the reigning champion and McLaren driver, took 11th, while Leonardo Fornaroli, last year's Formula 2 champion, drove Oscar Piastri's car and finished the session in 16th.

Practice was briefly halted after Lance Stroll lost control of his updated Aston Martin car and went off the track. A team spokesperson said the Canadian driver's car apparently suffered a failure in the left rear suspension system.

His teammate Fernando Alonso took 13th, 2.475 seconds behind Leclerc.

Despite Ferrari's strong start in the Hungarian round, after winning two of the last four races, both Leclerc and Hamilton warned that Mercedes remains the main favorite, even if the current circuit is more suited to Ferrari than previous circuits.

Leclerc said: 'Personally, I still expect Mercedes to be the benchmark, and it will be very difficult to beat them in qualifying.'

Hamilton, winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix 8 times, said on Thursday: 'I think Mercedes is still the team to beat.'