Charles Leclerc topped the first practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, setting a best lap of 1:19.075 before his Ferrari stopped in the pit lane with a suspected technical issue. He was faster than Red Bull's Max Verstappen and teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Aston Martin introduced significant upgrades to their AMR26 car, but Lance Stroll spun off due to a suspected suspension failure after just 11 laps. His teammate Fernando Alonso finished 13th.

George Russell was fifth for Mercedes, while their young driver Fred Vesti was seventh. Several other rookies participated in the session. Verstappen and Carlos Sainz were called to the stewards for erratic driving incidents.