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

The driver from Monaco recorded a time of 1 minute and 19.075 seconds on the Hungaroring circuit, before ending his participation in the first free practice 7 minutes before the finish after telling his team via the internal radio that 'something broke' in the car.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull driver, came second, 0.484 seconds behind, and faces a hearing with race stewards for allegedly driving irregularly, while Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari driver, finished third, 0.543 seconds behind his teammate.

Hamilton expressed dissatisfaction with his car's performance, saying over the team radio: 'Things are very bad. The car is very uncomfortable to drive. The suspension stiffness settings are too extreme.'

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

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

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

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

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

Despite Ferrari's strong start in the Hungarian round, having won two of the last four races, both Leclerc and Hamilton warned that Mercedes remains the main favorite, even if the current circuit suits Ferrari better than previous tracks.

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

Hamilton, an eight-time winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix, said on Thursday: 'I think Mercedes is still the team to beat.'

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