Lewis Hamilton led team-mate Charles Leclerc to a Ferrari one-two in Friday practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was 0.148 seconds ahead of Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris third, 0.499secs off the pace, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.
Fernando Alonso ended the day 19th fastest in the new Aston Martin after what team principal Adrian Newey said was a “promising” first outing for a car that is new apart from its engine, gearbox and front suspension.
Alonso was 2.990secs off the pace, but had a lap nearly 0.4secs faster ruled out for track limits at the final corner.
Although that is still a long way from competitiveness, it is a significant step forward from where Aston Martin have spent most of the season.
Ferrari looked in good shape, as might have been expected on a track that lends itself to the car’s strong cornering performance.
But Mercedes, with George Russell in fifth 0.933secs off the pace and championship leader Kimi Antonelli in 13th, appeared to have some work to do.
Antonelli did not complete a qualifying simulation lap in the second session.
His first had to be abandoned when Franco Colapinto crashed his Alpine at the last corner, and his second came to grief when he made an error going into the chicane.
Antonelli was complaining all session about rear brake locking, but he was on a par with Norris’ time in the first sector on both laps before they were curtailed.
Behind Russell, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was sixth fastest, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
Ferrari has announced that Enrico Galliera, its chief marketing and commercial officer of more than 16 years, will step down, handing one of the most sensitive jobs in the luxury car world to an outsider.
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His successor, Massimiliano Di Silvestre, the former head of BMW’s Italian business, takes over on 1 July and will report directly to CEO Benedetto Vigna.
Galliera’s exit comes barely a month after Ferrari pulled the covers off the Luce, its first fully electric model, which received a reception few at the company were happy about.
The car, whose edgeless styling was developed with LoveFrom, the design studio founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, broke sharply from Ferrari’s traditional look and drew swift ridicule from enthusiasts and investors alike.
The backlash was unusually public for a brand accustomed to adoration.
Ferrari’s shares fell more than 8% in a single session after the reveal, a sharp market verdict on one of the industry’s most valuable names.
Critics lined up to attack the design, among them the company’s own former chairman, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who warned that the brand was risking the destruction of a legend and went so far as to suggest the famous badge be removed from the car.
Italy’s deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, joined in, questioning the four-door model’s price, which starts at €550,000.
However, Ferrari has firmly rejected any link between the criticism and Galliera’s departure.
According to the company, he had decided to move on some time ago and agreed to remain in place through the Luce launch before pursuing what it described as a new chapter in his career.
Vigna praised his contribution and framed the change as part of the brand’s evolution rather than a reaction to it.
An outsider for an uncertain road
Whatever the motivation, the choice of replacement is telling.
Di Silvestre brings more than two decades of experience in the premium car market, having steered BMW Italy since 2019, and represents a rare move by Ferrari to recruit its commercial chief from a rival rather than promote from within.
He inherits the task of selling an electric Ferrari to a clientele that pays a heavy premium for exclusivity, at a moment when demand for high-performance EVs has cooled.
Ferrari maintains that interest in the Luce remains strong, though investors will not get a clearer picture until the company reports its second-quarter results on 30 July.
REALITY TV star Kim Kardashian showcases a dazzling new look — striking platinum hair.
She has covered her flowing black tresses with an edgier bob wig.
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Kim Kardashian stunned as she showcased her new platinum hairCredit: BackGridKim showed off her killer curves in MonacoCredit: PA
Kim, 45, was wearing huge sunglasses and a floor-length coat on a night out in Beverly Hills, California, as she debuted the blonde revamp.
It was a marked change from the US star’s last public outing — cheering on Brit boyfriend Sir Lewis Hamilton, 41, at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago.
Kim has been hilariously mocked by F1 ace Kimi Antonelli after stealing his towel at the Monaco Grand Prix.
This sparked fury online, with Kim seemingly unaware that the towel was for the driver as she used it to wipe her sunglasses while walking through the paddock.
But now, 19-year-old Kimi has made light of the misunderstanding in a hilarious TikTok video, which was shared to the official Mercedes page.
In the clip, Kimi is seen asking around for his towel, before washing his hands and having nowhere to dry them.
“Hey, have you seen my towel?” the sportsman asks the camera.
Kim and her sister Khloe Kardashian at the Monaco Grand PrixCredit: SplashKim was cheering on Brit boyfriend Sir Lewis Hamilton at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks agoCredit: PA
Fans in the comment section of the video couldn’t hold back their laughter, with one writing: “hmm I wonder if kim k knows anything?”
Lewis Hamilton took his first victory for Ferrari in a compelling Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix as championship leader Kimi Antonelli retired from second place with four laps to go.
It was a dramatic end to a gripping race that had tension and jeopardy throughout as Hamilton secured his first victory since the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, when he was still driving for Mercedes.
The win turned on a virtual safety-car period which allowed Hamilton, on a different pit-stop strategy to Mercedes, to pit and retain the lead.
Meanwhile, Antonelli had just passed Russell for second place with five laps to go after a race-long battle when his car ground to a halt with a technical problem.
Russell finished second and McLaren’s Lando Norris was third in the first all-British podium since the 1968 US Grand Prix.
The key stories of a momentous race were:
Confirmation of Hamilton and Ferrari’s return to the front
Antonelli’s first problem of the year providing much-needed luck for Russell
A touch of irony as to the cause of the VSC that turned the race for Hamilton
Do you honestly think Max will quit F1 at the end of the season if the engine changes aren’t coming? – Paddy
There is no questioning the fact that Max Verstappen is being genuine when he says he doesn’t think he can face another year driving the cars as they are.
In Montreal, he made it pretty clear that he does not fancy sticking around if the engine rules don’t change. “It’s just mentally not doable for me to stay like this,” he said. “It’s really not.”
After the race, he admitted he had “enjoyed a lot” his battle with Hamilton. But he also expanded on why he doesn’t like the new cars or, more precisely, the new engines, with their need for constant energy management.
Verstappen said that racing in the Nurburgring 24 Hours had reminded him “how pure motorsport can be”.
In F1, this year, he said: “For me, while driving, it’s all a bit confusing. It’s not what Formula 1 should be about. It’s way too complex.
“Most of the rules, the fans don’t even know what we are dealing with while driving, what is allowed when you’re behind or when you’re the car ahead, what we have to do on a formation lap or what we have to do in an out-lap, or how much battery that we’re allowed to charge.
“It’s just such a shame that we have to deal with all these things. F1 just needs to be more pure and I really hope that what they try to do [for] next year will go through because I think that is necessary, the minimum necessary, to make it a bit more natural and a bit more back to normal, or at least a bit more pure racing.
“As drivers, give us any kind of car, we’ll always race and give good entertainment or a good show. Doesn’t matter that people say, ‘Oh, but look now, the show is great, the cars were fighting.’ But it has nothing to do with the car. It just needs to be more pure.”
Verstappen is the most outspoken, but all the drivers basically feel the same way.
Antonelli said after the race that “still sometimes it triggers you a little bit how the system works”.
And Hamilton said: “It still continues to be a weird feeling”, adding: “You go on the power, you open up the [straight-line mode], and then the power dies halfway down the straight and the RPM starts dropping.
“It doesn’t feel what motorsport should be. The engine should be ringing its neck right to the end of the straight and just pulling and pulling.”
Verstappen is referring to the current attempt by F1 bosses to change the split between internal combustion and electrical power to 60:40 next year rather than the nominal 50:50 (in reality about 54:46) at the moment.
This is likely to be done by increasing the fuel-flow limit, and would reduce the need for energy management, especially in qualifying, and make the driving more “on the limit” again.
The regulators also have a chance to address some of the peculiarities of the new rules which are making the cars and engines extremely difficult to handle on warm-up laps because of the requirement not to go over a particular energy limit.
I won’t go into that here because it’s incredibly complex – but when you hear about what the drivers are having to do, the reaction is to scratch your head and wonder how on earth F1 ended up in this mess.
Although the FIA said more than two weeks ago that there was an “agreement in principle” on the 60:40 move, there has so far not been enough support from engine manufacturers for the changes to go through.
However, bosses are trying to lean on the companies opposed – Ferrari, Audi, Honda and Cadillac. And there is hope that an agreement, with suitable compromises addressing the concerns of, particularly, Ferrari and Audi, can be reached this week.
It’s worth mentioning that the rules have had some superficial positives, mainly to do with racing.
The new cars are lighter, smaller, and more nimble. And ‘overtake mode’ – which gives a car behind an extra 0.5MJ of electrical energy per lap if within a second of the car in front – has led to the multi-lap battles in which cars pass and repass a number of times that have become a feature of this year’s racing.
The hope is to be able to retain this while addressing the concerns about the way the new engines have negatively affected the purity of driving.
KATIE Price is plotting to get around her seventh driving ban after her husband Lee Andrews claimed he bought her a Ferrari.
The former glamour model, 47, has received bans totalling more than six years since she wasfirst disqualified in 2010.
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Katie Price is planning to get around her seventh driving banCredit: Katie Price / BackgridThe media star was banned again after failing to respond to police lettersCredit: Getty
And last month, Katie was banned for a seventh time after failing to respond to police letters about an 80mph speeding ticket.
But the media personality said she is now planning to get an international driving licence – despite her UK driving ban.
Katie shared a life update with her social media fans today.
She was joined by her husband Lee as she filmed a clip from the back of a moving car.
Lee Andrews reveals his big plans for him and Katie Price…Hyrox togetherCredit: wesleeeandrews/instagramKatie addressed her seventh driving ban last monthCredit: Alamy
Katie said: “Hey guys, we are just going to the hospital to get my stitches taken out and then we are going to Lee’s dad for a cup of tea.”
She added: “And to get my international driving licence…”
Lee interjected and said: “That’s the easy one, then you’ll see the car,” referring to the £180k Ferrari that Lee claimed he gifted his wife.
But Katie’s followers were quick to correct the star, with one writing: “You cannot drive with an international driving licence with a driving ban. It still stands in other countries, there is no way around it.”
A second said: “I hope Katie realises as I wouldn’t want her to do anything illegal in Dubai.”
A third said: “Not with a ban in the UK, you can’t as the Dubai authorities do checks.”
Another commented: “You cannot get an International Driving Permit or drive in Dubai if you have a current UK driving ban. You must hold a valid full driving licence to apply for an International one and the UK court will have taken her licence so she cannot apply for one.”
This person added: “It appears you cannot legally drive in Dubai with a revoked UK licence.”
According to the GOV UK website, you cannot obtain an International Driving Licence if you are banned from driving in another country.
It is only issued to holders of a valid UK driving licence, which is revoked or suspended when you are banned.
But the motor was completely different from the Ferrari she previously claimed had been a gift from self-confessed multi-millionaire Lee.
She previously told how the flash car, believed to cost around £180,000, had to remain in the UAE.
It is not clear how or when Lee purchased the car and whose name it is in ownership of.
Yet despite previously gushing over the “beautiful” gift it was nowhere to be seen during her recent video.
Lee took charge of filming as Katie got settled behind the wheel and said: “Kate is driving now – is this your first time driving in Dubai?”
She was then heard swearing as she got to grips with the automatic before he assisted and said: “There you go”.
Katie then added: “First time driving in Dubai.
The former glamour girl’s latest run-in with the law comes after a Ford Capri registered to her was caught at 80mph on the A64 near Strutton in North Yorkshire.
CCTV released by the police showed Katie behind the wheel during the incident on October 15, 2025, the same day she appeared on stage with celeb pal Kerry Katona for An Evening with Katie Price & Kerry Katona at Scarborough Spa.
Katie, who was first banned in 2010, was subsequently prosecuted and convicted of failing to respond to police, landing her with a six-month driving ban and a legal bill topping £1,000.
The former pin-up was keen to set the record straight last month.
Speaking on her podcast, The Katie Price Show the star revealed: “I found out I was banned by the papers.
“I am actually livid about that because if I’d got the letters I would have replied to it.”
Revealing what happened, Katie said: “Basically I’ve paid someone to do a job.
“They haven’t done it and… now I’m now banned from driving for six months, but I am gonna go back and see if I can appeal it.”
She then added: ” Yeah, or I just think it’s only six months where I live now, I can walk to the shop. the kids schools are ten minutes up the road.
“I get shopping delivered here anyway, because I’m always at home when I work at home.
“So it’s not like in the past where I’ve been stuck right in the middle of nowhere.”
It comes after Katie’s after new husband Lee claimed he is moving to the UK in May AND revealed details of a second wedding.