Norris shares mixed feelings after Friday practice in Hungary despite topping both sessions

Lando Norris adopted a cautious tone following Friday practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, even though the McLaren man managed to top the first two sessions at the Hungaroring.

After edging out team mate Oscar Piastri at the end of FP1, Norris finished 0.291s clear of the championship leader in FP2 by clocking a 1:15.624s on Pirelli’s soft tyres.

While encouraged by his start to the weekend, the Briton admitted to some “messy” moments and feels it could be a challenge to put his car in the optimal window for Qualifying.

“I mean, the car since the first lap has felt pretty good,” he began when speaking to the media. “All my laps have been decent.

“I think the [FP2] session end was a little bit more messy, just on low fuel, high fuel, a few more mistakes. It’s all part of practice and trying to find the limits in different areas.

“A good understanding… I think I know what I want from the car, but it might be a bit harder trying to get it.”

Pushed on whether he still feels confident of making it back-to-back poles at the Budapest venue, Norris added: “I mean, I have a better car than I had last year, so more chance – but some tough competition.”

At the top of that list is Piastri, who shadowed Norris in both of Friday’s practice sessions but had his own set-up challenges to deal with.

Asked if he was pleased with his day’s work, Piastri replied: “I think generally, yes. We’ve had to change a few things and try and make the car a bit better, but the performance has been very good.

“All in all, pretty happy. Some things to tidy up, it wasn’t the smoothest of FP2s, but I think the underlying pace is good. I’m excited for the rest of the weekend.”

As for what prevented it from being a perfect start to his weekend, the Australian continued: “I think just the grip level was very high today.

“The car’s been quick all day, just in FP1 it behaved a bit unexpectedly, so we changed a few things and it made it a lot better for FP2. Now we’re fine-tuning the normal things.

“I think just the grip level was a lot higher than we expected, especially compared to last year. It’s just those things.”

Piastri heads into the event with a 16-point advantage over Norris in the Drivers’ Championship, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is now 81 points adrift.