BUDAPEST: Lewis Hamilton bounced back to beat Max Verstappen and top the times for Mercedes in Saturday’s third and final free practice at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion put his Friday struggles behind him in a show of pace at a circuit where he has claimed a record eight victories, outpacing Red Bull’s defending double world champion by 0.250 seconds.
After a tortuous day on Friday, Sergio Perez recovered to post the third-best time in the second Red Bull ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Haas, McLaren’s Lando Norris and George Russell in the second Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc was seventh ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas.
After Friday’s wet conditions, Saturday’s session offered a dry track and blue skies as Daniel Ricciardo led the way out of the pits in his Alpha Tauri.
The returning Australian was briefly fastest before the senior Red Bull team joined the fray, Perez going top only to be replaced by Verstappen in 1:18.748.
The opening two sessions were also affected by F1’s latest rule change, this time with tyre-allocation, each driver being allocated 11 sets instead of the previous 13 and ordered to use certain compounds in each part of qualifying.
As a result, both Mercedes and Red Bull limited their Friday running. Hamilton used only one set of mediums and reported his car was “at its worst” while his team made clear they would welcome Nyck de Vries back in a reserve role after the Dutchman had been dumped abruptly by Red Bull.
After 25 minutes, the champion remained on top and Ricciardo was last, but the Mercedes were showing promise after overnight set-up changes. Hamilton was ninth and Russell 13th.
“Is everything ok with the rear?” asked Verstappen on team radio. “It’s a bit weird.”
His question reflected the strength of the changeable wind, notably at Turn Two.
Others continued to match the Dutchman’s lap in vain until Alonso took command in 1:18.350 on soft tires to beat his lap by one-tenth. Twenty years after his maiden F1 triumph at the Hungaroring, this was a reminder of the Spaniard’s raw pace.
With 15 minutes remaining, Norris, on new mediums, went top in 1:18.082 as the track evolved more rapidly in the closing minutes. Hamilton then showed his potential on softs with an outstanding lap in 1:17.811 to move clear by two-tenths, enough to keep Verstappen at bay on his first soft tire run.
“No grip!” declared a frustrated Verstappen, demonstrating how critical tires will be later in qualifying and for Sunday’s race — and how adroitly Mercedes had once again managed to turn apparent difficulties on Friday into an upsurge of pace on Saturday.
Hamilton bounces back to outpace Verstappen in Hungarian practice
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Hamilton bounces back to outpace Verstappen in Hungarian practice
- After a tortuous day on Friday, Sergio Perez recovered to post the third-best time in the second Red Bull ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Haas
- McLaren's Lando Norris and George Russell in the second Mercedes
Al-Attiyah claims victory at 2026 Hail Baja international rally
HAIL: The Hail Baja Toyota International Rally 2026 ended on Saturday with Nasser Al-Attiyah claiming overall victory, completing the event in a total time of 4 hours, 6 minutes, 23 seconds. Yazeed Al-Rajhi finished second with 4:07:05, while Dania Akeel secured third place with 4:20:47.
The event was organized by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Sport, the Hail Region Emirate and the Hail Region Development Authority, with Jameel Motorsport as official partner alongside the Saudi Motorsport Marshals Club.
The winners were crowned by Mansour Al-Mokbel, CEO of Saudi Motorsport Company, in the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Saad bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, chairman of the Hail Region Development Authority board.
The ceremony followed the second and final stage of the rally, which was hosted in Baqaa and covered a total distance of 323 km, including 151 km of the timed special stage.
The event brought together 152 drivers and navigators from 26 nationalities, including 72 Saudis, with 93 vehicles competing across six categories.
Overall classification — Hail Baja Toyota International Rally 2026
FIA Ultimate Category
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar)
Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Saudi Arabia)
Dania Akeel (Saudi Arabia)
FIA Challenger Category
Yasir Bin Saiedan (Saudi Arabia)
Hamad Al-Wuhaibi (Oman)
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (Qatar)
FIA SSV Category
Fernando Alvarez (Argentina)
Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)
Erik van Loon (Netherlands)
FIA Stock Category
Majed Al-Thunayan (Saudi Arabia)
Abdullah Al-Shegawi (Saudi Arabia)
Al-Mashna Al-Shammari (Saudi Arabia)
FIM Motorcycles Category
Alex McInnes (Great Britain)
Mohammed Al-Balooshi (UAE)
Sultan Al-Balooshi (UAE)
FIM Quad Bikes Category
Hani Al-Noumesi (Saudi Arabia)
Abdulaziz Al-Atwi (Saudi Arabia)
Ahmed Al-Jaber (Saudi Arabia)
Saudi Toyota Baja Championship
Ultimate Cars Category
Faris Al-Shammari (Saudi Arabia)
Motab Al-Qnon (Saudi Arabia)
Khalaf Al-Shammari (Saudi Arabia)
SSV Category
Prince Sultan bin Turki bin Sultan (Saudi Arabia)
Mashael Al-Huwaish (Saudi Arabia)
Abdulmoeen Al-Shawaf (Saudi Arabia)
Stock Category
Mohammed Al-Asiri (Saudi Arabia)
Salem Al-Quraini (Saudi Arabia)
Hatem Al-Shammari (Saudi Arabia)
The Hail Baja international rally is considered one of the region’s premier motorsport events. It has been a key fixture on the desert rally calendar for more than two decades, offering high standards and an exciting sporting experience for both competitors and spectators. The rally also holds an important position on the calendars of several regional and international championships, reinforcing its status as one of the standout cross-country rallies in the region and reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing reputation as a global motorsport destination.
