Charles Leclerc topped opening practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix with a 1m19.075s benchmark, 0.484s clear of Max Verstappen's Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton was third for Ferrari as several teams debuted Hungary-specific upgrades, including Ferrari's three-piece winglet and McLaren's revised floor.

Aston Martin introduced a heavily updated Aston Martin AMR26 B-spec featuring new chassis, aero and rear suspension. The session was red-flagged after 36 minutes when Lance Stroll suffered a suspected rear suspension failure at Turn 2, spinning 360 degrees. Leclerc later coasted to the pits with an apparent power unit issue.

Verstappen complained his RB22 felt like "driving with a handbrake on." Rookie drivers filled the timesheets: Frederik Vesti seventh in Mercedes, Nico Hulkenberg eighth, Arvid Lindblad ninth and Liam Lawson tenth, relegating Lando Norris to 11th. Fernando Alonso placed 13th in the second Aston Martin. Carlos Sainz was summoned for allegedly impeding Verstappen.