F1 Hungarian GP live commentary and updates - FP3

That's it from FP3

Join us again at 16:00 CET for live qualifying updates. Will it be Piastri or Norris?

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

Some big improvers versus yesterday in that session. Both McLarens into the 1m14s bracket, of course, but both Ferraris have also found pace.

Alonso and Stroll have found four and three tenths each, but that's dwarfed by Antonelli's leap: he's nearly eight tenths faster than he was in FP2.

Racing Bulls backwards on relative pace but, as we saw, Hadjar didn't set a representative lap owing to traffic and his own enthusiasm.

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team, Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

Leclerc isn't any faster than his previous best even as he kicks up dirt at the exit of the penultimate corner.

Verstappen back out as well, along with Hulkenberg, Lawson, Sainz, Colapinto, Gasly, Tsunoda and Hadjar.

Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Alonso and Stroll - currently P3 to P7 - are out on softs and heading for push laps.

P5 currently occupied by Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who has just backed out of a push lap on softs. He'd done a PB in the first sector but then – unseen on the world TV feed - it went south in sector two.

Team-mate Russell currently P8.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Meanwhile Leclerc has re-established the normal order at Ferrari and gone faster than team-mate Hamilton. 1m15.315s versus 1m15.684s. So while the Ferraris are third and fourth, 0.399s separates Leclerc from Piastri in P1. Lewis a little over three tenths off Charles.

It's another tale of woe - relatively speaking - for Red Bull as Verstappen is currently P12 with a best lap of 1m16.162s and complaining vigorously about understeer on the radio. Six tenths faster than yesterday but still not enough.

Yuki Tsunoda also in settings hell and in P17 with a best of 1m16.878s - nearly four tenths slower than yesterday.

Less than 10 minutes to go and there's a change of personnel as Lando Norris heads back out. Hamilton, Antonelli, Stroll, Russell, Hulkenberg, Verstappen, Tsunoda and Hadjar currently in the pits.

Hamilton aborts his qualifying sim and breaks for the pits. There's a rush to get on track in the final minutes - everyone except Hamilton, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Colapinto and Ocon are out there.

We speak too soon - Norris has pitted.

Yellow flags being displayed as Isack Hadjar overcooks the final corner and rotates backwards into the run-off. 

Personal bests for Lando Norris through every sector on that lap, including a purple in his final sector, but he was on the back foot from the off after the car bit back at him through Turn 1. 1m14.948s is 0.032s off Piastri and he pulled back all the deficit in that final sector.

Only six cars on track at the moment and Piastri makes best use of that clear air to go purple in every sector. We are now into the 14s!

1m14.916s is faster than last year's pole by three tenths.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Isack Hadjar moaning about traffic in general and Lando Norris in particular. He's down in 15th at the moment with a best lap of 1m16.956 - five tenths off the time that put him P8 in FP2.

Oscar Piastri back out on softs, as are Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris. That's your top three at the moment, Norris 0.244s off his team-mate.

Bernie's in

Former F1 'ringmaster' Bernie Ecclestone is out and about in the paddock. A rare visitor these days.

Ecclestone was instrumental in bringing F1 here in the 1980s when Hungary was still behind the so-called 'Iron Curtain'. Indeed, the road in to the circuit used to be named 'Bernie Avenue' in his honour.

Bernie Ecclestone

Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images

So Pierre Gasly's 1m16.798s is over two tenths faster than he managed yesterday. An improvement, but at the same time following yesterday's pattern of Alpine not improving quite as much as its usual neighbours on the grid.

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Norris goes around in 1m16.115s, third fastest so far. He appeared to have some traffic at the beginning of his lap.

Norris back out on used softs. While a handful of cars are doing long runs on mediums, there are still some qualifying simulations going on.

Sauber continuing its improvement trajectory with Gabriel Bortoleto currently P6 with a 1m16.258s - almost seven tenths faster than his quickest lap yesterday. Nico Hulkenberg P11 on 1m16.830s. He was P10 until Pierre Gasly popped in a quick one a couple of minutes ago.

Piastri returns to P1 with a 1m15.871s. His fastest yesterday was 1m15.915s.

Hamilton goes P2 with 1m16.015s after two warm-up laps on his softs.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

That was Leclerc's first flying lap on that run, but there will be no more since he's gone into the pits.

Leclerc on a flier here, purple in sector one and two... but has a whoopsie at Turn 12 and runs his rear-left tyre onto the gravel at the exit. Still, it's good for P1 for now - 1m16.137s. Not as fast as his quickest time from FP2.

On his second push lap on these softs, Verstappen finds more time and goes to the top of the timesheet. 1m16.202s is half a second faster than his best time from FP2.

Piastri goes P1 - 1m16.240s. But Norris is only P5 behind Verstappen with a 1m16.669. He lost the best part of half a second to Piastri in the first sector alone so something must have happened in sector one out of our sight.

Max goes fastest with 1m16.547s but that's not especially quick, and Leclerc immediately raises the bar to 1m16.406s. Then Russell goes faster still - 1m16.312s.

And that's your top three until the McLarens come round.

The two McLarens return to the track on softs too.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

20 minutes of the session gone and now we get Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc and George Russell out on softs. Fernando Alonso, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar on mediums.

Colapinto improves his time to 1m17.310s but Tsunoda immediately goes fastest of all on 1m17.022. Still over a second off yesterday's quickest laps.

Tsunoda has flow-viz paint applied around the back of his diffuser - which is interesting, since his floor isn't even quite the latest spec.

Track temperature now over 40C and you can see the heat haze on the world TV feed.

1m18.006s for Colapinto. That's over 2s off the ultimate pace yesterday so let's not get excited.

There was a minor crunch in the Porsche Supercup qualifying session which preceded FP3, so there is some cement dust down at Turn 3 to soak up the oil. That's going to compromise lap times, which accounts for the reluctance to get out on track.

Colapinto carries on circulating and now team-mate Pierre Gasly joins him, as does Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda and Stroll are on mediums and Stroll has just gone fastest on 1m17.540s. Hulkenberg and Gasly, like Colapinto, are on softs.

Soft sell

The Astons peel off after a single lap on hards. Just one car out on track at the moment and it's Franco Colapinto, on softs.

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

He'll likely go top of the timesheet, so here's a shot of him throwing a hat.

And both McLarens - and both Aston Martins - back into the pits without completing a full lap. Obviously just scrubbing the surface for later use.

Astons going out on hards now.

Thankfully more drivers are filtering out onto the track. Piastri, Stroll and Alonso now out too. Both McLarens running on hard Pirellis, the Aston Martin on mediums. 

It'll be interesting to see how the Astons perform in this session after yesterday's relatively strong showing.

Oliver Bearman hasn't even got his helmet on, still chatting to his mechanics in the garage...

Red Bull balance issues

Friday was torrid for the Milton Keynes equipe, and Max Verstappen went backwards on relative pace in FP2. He reckons the balance of the car is totally off. Dr Helmut Marko actually left the circuit early because he was so disgusted by the team's performance!

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

You can spray that again

Before we kick off and the cars take to the track, Fernando Alonso's suggestion of resurfacing tracks to solve F1's wet-weather spray problem has excited much comment...

Fernando sat out FP1 yesterday with a back injury but now he's, er, back. He's still lumbar-ed with a bit of pain, though.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

Welcome to live coverage of FP3 in Hungary

It's another hot day to the east of Budapest so likely to be a question of how big McLaren's margin of superiority is. Unless something has been unlocked in the sim at Milton Keynes overnight, Red Bull is in for another day which is "really quite bad" as Max Verstappen described yesterday.