What is Pirelli's take after the difficult, low-grip conditions at the Hungaroring?

Pirelli believes the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix could develop into a two-stop race after Friday's practice sessions revealed higher-than-expected tyre degradation at the Hungaroring.

Ferrari dominated the opening day, with Charles Leclerc topping the first free practice session before Lewis Hamilton led the way in FP2. The Scuderia also set the benchmark on both the Soft (C5) and Medium (C4) compounds, underlining its impressive pace across different tyre strategies.

Leclerc established the fastest lap of FP1 with a 1:19.075 on the Soft tyre after earlier posting the quickest Medium-compound lap of the session with a 1:20.287.

Hamilton then lowered the benchmark to 1:18.729 in the afternoon session on the Soft compound and also proved to be the fastest driver on the Medium tyre, recording a 1:19.585.

While outright pace belonged to Ferrari, Friday's running also provided Pirelli with valuable information ahead of Sunday's race.

According to Pirelli Chief Engineer Simone Berra, the strategic picture remains open despite the first day's data.

"We will get a clearer picture tomorrow once the teams have completed their analysis of today's data, but the indications from the opening two hours of free practice suggest there is still uncertainty over the number of pit stops we are likely to see in Sunday's race."

Berra pointed to the varying tyre choices made by the teams as evidence that there is currently no consensus on the optimal strategy.

"Six teams have retained two sets of Hard tyres, while all the others have already used at least one, a sign that there is not yet a unanimous view on the best way to tackle the Hungarian Grand Prix."

Although the Hungaroring has traditionally rewarded track position, Friday's tyre data suggests making an additional pit stop could ultimately prove faster.

"Given the higher level of degradation observed during the second session, when the drivers pushed harder, a two-stop strategy appears capable of offering an advantage over a one-stop race."

However, Berra cautioned that overtaking remains one of the biggest factors influencing race strategy: "The difficulty of overtaking at the Hungaroring must also be taken into account, as track position remains a decisive factor at this circuit."

Pirelli also analysed the behaviour of each compound during Friday's running.

Most teams began FP1 on the Medium tyre, while only Aston Martin and Cadillac elected to start on the Hard compound. During the early stages of FP2, teams focused primarily on the Hard and Medium tyres before switching to qualifying simulations on the Soft.

Track grip remained relatively low throughout the day, with ambient temperatures hovering around 25°C and circuit temperatures peaking at 46°C.

According to Berra, the Soft compound delivered the strongest overall performance. The Medium tyre, however, displayed one characteristic engineers will continue monitoring.

"Track grip was relatively low throughout the day, and the Soft proved to be the compound that best showcased the performance of the cars, thanks to the greater mechanical grip it delivered from the very first laps. By contrast, the Medium showed a degree of graining on the front-left tyre."

Berra added that rear tyre management will remain one of the key challenges throughout the weekend.

"In general, protecting the rear axle is crucial at this circuit, while managing an inevitable level of front tyre degradation, which should nevertheless decrease as the track continues to evolve over the course of the weekend."

The performance difference between the Soft and Medium compounds was approximately eight tenths of a second—almost exactly matching Pirelli's pre-event simulations.

With weather conditions expected to remain almost unchanged for Saturday, teams now face the challenge of extracting maximum performance over a single lap.

Berra believes finding the correct operating window for the tyres could prove decisive in qualifying: "The performance gap between the Soft and Medium compounds was around eight tenths of a second, in line with pre-event simulations."

He concluded: "Attention now turns to the opening phase of qualifying tomorrow, where it will not be easy for the drivers to identify the optimal window for both the preparation lap and the flying lap on such a short circuit."