BUDAPEST: Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri beat team-mate and title rival Lando Norris by just three-hundredths of a second as McLaren dominated Saturday’s third and final practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The two McLaren men clocked times of 1min 14.916 sec and 1:14.948 respectively to finish 0.399 clear of third-placed Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and are separated by just 0.032 seconds.
Piastri’s best lap was three-tenths faster than Norris’ pole lap last year and set up a thrilling duel in prospect for qualifying later on Saturday when rising temperatures, requiring additional cooling for the cars, will favor different teams.
After his struggles in Belgium last weekend and on Friday in Hungary, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton bounced back to more familiar form by taking fourth place, three-tenths adrift of Leclerc.
Four-time champion Max Verstappen wound up 12th for Red Bull.
The close nature of the contest would have intrigued the visiting Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One’s retired former ringmaster who negotiated the first Hungarian race, behind the ‘iron curtain’ in 1986.
With 20 minutes gone, the big teams joined the fray. After his travails on Friday, Verstappen needed some improvement and quickly clocked 1:16.547 to go top only for Leclerc, George Russell and then Piastri to move clear.
The Australian’s lap of 1:16.240 lifted him clear of Russell, but it was not enough to resist the increased pace of Verstappen who went top in 1:16.202 — half a second better than his Friday best.
Contrary to Hamilton’s struggles, Leclerc showed pace in his Ferrari to beat Verstappen after half an hour in 1:16.137, six-hundredths of a second clear, but Piastri returned to remind his rivals of his affinity with the circuit in 1:15.871.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Hamilton then proved his overnight homework had been fruitful by rising to second, ahead of Leclerc, in 1:16.015, a reminder of his status as a record eight-time winner at the Hungaroring.
Norris, at this time, was down in fifth, rising to third after 35 minutes, two-tenths adrift of Piastri who, after a pits visit, returned to clock 1:14.916, a lap faster than last year’s pole, by Norris, by three-tenths.
Norris followed him to overhaul Hamilton who stayed third seven-tenths adrift of the mighty McLarens before being pushed to fourth by Leclerc.
Piastri edges Norris as McLaren dominate Hungarian GP final practice
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Piastri edges Norris as McLaren dominate Hungarian GP final practice
- Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri beat team-mate and title rival Lando Norris by just three-hundredths of a second as McLaren dominated
France qualify for 2026 World Cup; Ronaldo sent off as Portugal lose to Ireland
- Two goals from star striker Mbappe helped two-time champions France to qualify with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine on Thursday
- Ronaldo will serve a mandatory one-game ban imposed for any red card when Portugal play Armenia
- Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway moved closer to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 by beating Estonia 4-1 in Oslo
LONDON: Kylian Mbappe and France are going to the 2026 World Cup. And Cristiano Ronaldo might be banned from Portugal’s first game there if his team finally win their European qualifying group.
Two goals from star striker Mbappe helped two-time champion France to qualify with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine on Thursday. But Ronaldo was ejected for the first time in his international career and Portugal will have to wait until Sunday to secure a qualifying spot for the seventh straight time after it was stunned 2-0 by Ireland in Dublin.
Midfielder Michael Olize and substitute forward Hugo Ekitike added the other goals in a dominant second half from France, the World Cup runner-up in 2022.
Mbappe sent the penalty straight down the middle to break the deadlock in the 55th minute before Olize turned inside the penalty area to curl home the second goal in the 76th at Parc des Princes in western Paris. Mbappé poked in France’s third goal from close range in the 83rd following a goal-mouth scramble. Mbappe moved onto 55 goals and just two behind Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer.
“The French national team will always be better with him in it,” coach Didier Deschamps said about Mbappé. “He makes things easier for us. He performed his role perfectly this evening, as both a player and the captain of the national team.”
Mbappe went close to a hat trick moments later but blazed over after going clean through.
France have won Group D with 13 points, Ukraine and Iceland are tied on seven points and will play for second place when they meet on Sunday.
Ronaldo’s 1st international red card
Portugal will host last-place Armenia in the final qualifying game on Sunday, when Hungary host Ireland at the same time.
Portugal top Group F with 10 points, two ahead of Hungary. Ireland are third with seven points.
Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Ireland defender Dara O’Shea on the hour. The referee issued a yellow card but minutes later upgraded it to red after a video review.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said he thought the ejection was “a bit harsh,” pointing out that Ronaldo “has never been sent off before in 226 games.”
Ronaldo will serve a mandatory one-game ban imposed for any red card when Portugal play Armenia. FIFA disciplinary rules require its judges to impose a ban of “at least two matches for serious foul play.”
Troy Parrott put the hosts ahead with a close-range header following a corner kick in the 17th minute against the run of play with Portugal dominant. Parrott added his second in the final minute before the break, beating Diogo Costa with a low shot from inside the area.
Haaland’s double
Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway moved closer to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 by beating Estonia 4-1 in Oslo.
The win virtually secures a spot for the high-scoring Norwegians in next year’s tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Italy had to rely on late goals from Gianluca Mancini and substitute Francesco Pio Esposito to win 2-0 at Moldova and is second in Group I, trailing leader Norway by three points.
Italy will likely have to settle for the playoffs where the four-time World Cup champions were eliminated in the past two editions. They host Norway on Sunday and would have to win by a nine-goal margin to directly qualify because of Norway’s vastly superior goal difference.
Haaland has scored 14 of Norway’s European-best 33 goals in seven group-stage games. The Manchester City striker was born two years after Norway last reached the World Cup.
Still perfect England
Already-qualified England continued to cruise.
They beat Serbia 2-0 at Wembley Stadium to keep a perfect record in Group K and are yet to concede a goal.
Bukayo Saka fired England ahead on a rebound with a left-foot volley in the 28th after an initial shot by Nico O’Reilly was blocked. Substitute forward Eberechi Eze added the second in the 90th off a pass from another substitute, Phil Foden.
Albania beat Andorra 1-0 in the same group to secure the runner-up spot.
