With the introduction of the alternative tyre allocation for this round, limiting teams from 13 sets of tyres per weekend to 11, the teams attempted to use FP3 as preparation for each phase of qualifying. This yielded all-out times across the full range of compounds, rather than simply bolting on softs as hot-lap preparation.
Track temperatures of 45C and above also made it more difficult for the drivers to initially beat their FP2 times, when the track surface had been cooled by earlier rain, although an overnight downpour had stripped the Hungaroring surface of rubber laid down on Friday.
Daniel Ricciardo set the first timed lap of the session, but his sighter was quickly beaten by Kevin Magnussen's 1m20.454s, who in turn was usurped by Sergio Perez's first lap on a set of used mediums.
Max Verstappen then dispatched his team-mate with a 1m18.478s having pressed a new set of mediums into service, as the Dutchman only used soft tyres in FP2 on Friday.
This withstood a series of runs on soft tyres, as Oscar Piastri's 1m18.949s was not enough to beat either Red Bull despite setting a best middle sector. Piastri's run was completed on new softs, while the trailing laps from team-mate Lando Norris and Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were already used sets.
Continuing its impressive pace from FP2, Alfa Romeo pair Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu then split the two Red Bulls on fresh softs, Bottas getting within 0.011s of Verstappen's benchmark as the opening third of the session's run-time had been completed.
Norris then found a smidgen more life in his used softs to move past Perez into fourth, as the Mexican complained that he was struggling to cool the tyres on the sweltering tarmac.
Source: Autosport