The Hungarian Grand Prix was the final race prior to the summer break but Formula 1 hasn’t quite broken up for its holidays just yet, with two days of testing taking place this week.
All 10 Formula 1 teams will be present at the Hungaroring, with several fielding young drivers, as per the regulations, which dictate that two of the four in-season days must be handed to those with fewer than two Grand Prix starts.
An array of highly-rated junior drivers will be in action, most prominently F2 title favourite Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, GP3 points leader George Russell at Mercedes, while rising F3 hotshot Lando Norris, aged just 17, will climb into McLaren’s MCL32.
Reigning GP2 champion Pierre Gasly will receive another run out with Red Bull, while DTM title contender Lucas Auer will get his first F1 shot with Force India, sharing duties with F3 racer Nikita Mazepin.
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-120x86.webp)
Haas development driver Santino Ferrucci, who made a points-scoring F2 debut in Hungary, will be behind the wheel for both days, mirroring the team’s strategy from last year’s Silverstone test.
Elsewhere, Luca Ghiotto will be in action for Williams, Toro Rosso will hand another opportunity to Sean Gelael, while Honda-backed Nobuharu Matsushita joins Gustav Malja at Sauber.
However, some of the greatest attention is likely to fall on Renault, where Robert Kubica will continue to explore a Formula 1 comeback by sampling the R.S.17 on Wednesday.
Kubica competed in Formula 1 between 2006 and 2010 before he sustained severe arm injuries in a rally crash.
The Pole returned to the cockpit of a Formula 1 car for the first time in six years last month, piloting Renault’s 2012-spec E20 at Valencia, and was afforded a second outing at Paul Ricard.
Kubica will be joined at Renault by the team’s test driver Nicholas Latifi.
Valtteri Bottas will also be present, driving Mercedes' W08 on Tuesday as part of Pirelli's 2018 tyre development.
Driver line-up for Hungaroring test:
Mercedes: George Russell
Red Bull: Pierre Gasly (Tues), Max Verstappen (Weds)
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc (Tues), Sebastian Vettel / Kimi Räikkönen (Weds)
Force India: Lucas Auer, Nikita Mazepin (Tues/Weds half days each)
Williams: Lance Stroll (Tues), Luca Ghiotto (Weds)
McLaren: Stoffel Vandoorne (Tues), Lando Norris (Weds)
Toro Rosso: Sean Gelael (Tues), TBC (Weds)
Haas: Santino Ferrucci
Renault: Nicholas Latifi (Tues), Robert Kubica (Weds)
Sauber: Gustav Malja (Tues), Nobuharu Matsushita (Weds)
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-350x250.webp)
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