Lando Norris gave McLaren hope of challenging for their first Grand Prix pole position of the season in their upgraded car in Hungary by impressively outpacing Friday pacesetter Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' title-leading Kimi Antonelli in final practice. Norris uncorked a 1:17.939 to pip Hamilton to the top of the timesheet by 0.117s.

After an unusually difficult Friday, Antonelli was back in the mix at the front too and finished third fastest, 0.129s behind Norris. But team-mate George Russell continued to struggle and wound up only sixth fastest, 0.6s slower than Norris' impressive pace. Charles Leclerc was 0.3s off the pace in fourth in the second Ferrari, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri a tenth further back in fifth.

However, it was a more difficult session for Red Bull, with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar seventh and eighth-fastest respectively. The battle to head the midfield looks set to be led by Racing Bulls and Audi, with the former's Liam Lawson taking ninth ahead of the latter's Nico Hulkenberg in 10th. Arvid Lindblad completed just six laps in the other Racing Bulls after a power-unit change.

Cadillac also ran into problems as a brake fire caused Sergio Perez to pull up in the run-off area at Turn One. Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle said: "It's so close, as it always is here. It bodes incredibly well for this afternoon." Qualifying takes place at 3pm on Saturday at the Hungaroring.