Lance Stroll encountered a rear suspension failure in his upgraded Aston Martin during the first practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, as Ferrari's Charles Leclerc posted the fastest lap time. The incident occurred with approximately 20 minutes remaining in the session when Stroll's left rear suspension appeared to break while navigating Turn Three.
Aston Martin introduced a significant upgrade package for this race, featuring revised designs on numerous components, including the rear suspension. Following the session's restart, Stroll's teammate Fernando Alonso was sent out and recorded the 13th fastest time. While this was considerably slower than Leclerc's pace, it represented a notable improvement for Aston Martin, which has recently struggled at the back of the field. Alonso's lap was 2.475 seconds off Leclerc's best time, a marked improvement from recent races where the team had been approximately four seconds off the pace.
Leclerc's performance placed him 0.484 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari secured third place, followed by Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull. Leclerc's session concluded prematurely due to a separate car failure that caused him to stop in the pit lane.
Elsewhere in the session, George Russell of Mercedes was fifth fastest, ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto driving for Audi. Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti, piloting Kimi Antonelli's car, finished seventh. The top 10 was rounded out by Nico Hulkenberg of Audi, Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls, and Liam Lawson.