George Russell conceded that Ferrari were the ones to beat at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix after their strong showing across both practice sessions on Friday.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in both sessions at the Hungaroring, with the seven-time world champion leading a one-two in the second of those. 

Hamilton ended 0.148 seconds ahead of Leclerc after the second session, with Lando Norris 0.499secs back in third on what proved to be a difficult day for Mercedes. 

Despite leading both championships heading into the 11th race of the season, Mercedes duo Russell and Kimi Antonelli were unable to trouble those at the top of the standings. 

Russell ended up in fifth, 0.9secs behind Hamilton in the second session, while championship leader Antonelli finished 13th after a disrupted run on soft tyres.

Ferrari have not won the Hungarian Grand Prix since Sebastian Vettel led a one-two with Kimi Raikkonen in 2017, though Russell believes that stretch could end this weekend. 

"It was quite a strange day out there, I think for everybody," said Russell. 

"It's an amazing track to drive on, but they've resurfaced half the track, super bumpy.

"Our single lap [pace] didn't look great, the long run looked more competitive but what we feared with Ferrari seemed to be the case. They look very strong."

Russell has seen his bid for the championship take a hit in recent weeks, with the Briton now third in the Drivers' Championship and 50 points behind team-mate Antonelli. 

He has also retired twice in the last six races, as many as he had recorded across his previous 54 starts in Formula One, and he acknowledged that work needed to be done. 

"We've got work to do as a team. Ferrari are a good step ahead of everyone right now," Russell added. 

"I think for both Kimi and I the car was far from great, to be honest, and we think there is room to improve.

"It was really windy today and I think the wind [direction] is going to be shifting so that could be changing a lot."

For Ferrari, however, they will be pleased with how their first day in Hungary has gone, and they will be confident of continuing their recent upward trajectory. 

They have nine podiums in 2026, already two more than last season. They are also averaging 28.5 points per race, their highest in the team's F1 history. 

In Hamilton, they have a man who has more victories (eight), pole positions (nine), podium finishes (12) and points (286) at the Hungaroring than any other F1 driver. 

Leclerc, meanwhile, is chasing the 55th podium of his career, though he urged Ferrari to maintain their momentum in what he predicts will be a "tight" qualifying session. 

"It was a relatively strong day," Leclerc said. "I felt good about the car and the performance seemed to be there straight away, so that's a good thing, but the weekend is long.

"From Friday to Saturday we see teams making a jump in performance.

"Normally we are on the back foot on Friday, so it's a good thing we have a good Friday, but we still need to stay on it and work hard to get better tomorrow.

"It is going to be tight tomorrow. I don't expect us to have the gap we have today, we will have to do everything perfectly.

"But if the feeling is there, I am sure we will do a good job in Q3."