Norris secures victory in Hungarian Grand Prix

By Sanjay Menon — 26 July 2026 — 4 min read

Norris Claims First Grand Prix Win of 2026

Lando Norris secured his and McLaren‘s first Grand Prix victory of 2026 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He finished ahead of Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen and Mercedes‘ Kimi Antonelli. The race featured mid-race incidents and a late retirement for Norris’s teammate, Oscar Piastri.

Norris, who started from pole position, spent the initial part of the race behind Piastri. Piastri had taken the lead at Turn 2 on the opening lap and maintained it, despite Norris’s requests to be allowed through. However, the dynamic shifted after the halfway point of the race.

Following his second pit stop, Piastri encountered traffic, making contact with a Williams car. This incident, combined with Norris’s strong pace in clear air before his own second stop, influenced the race outcome. Piastri’s race ended prematurely due to an apparent gearbox issue.

Race Developments and Penalties

Piastri’s retirement triggered a Virtual Safety Car (VSC), leading to further pit lane activity. Verstappen and Antonelli, who had recently changed tyres, stayed out and secured second and third positions, respectively. They finished ahead of Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who both made three pit stops.

Hamilton initially emerged from his final stop ahead of Antonelli. However, replays indicated he had crossed the VSC white line behind the Mercedes car, causing him to cede the position. A five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane further impacted Hamilton’s chances of a podium finish. Despite pressing Antonelli, Leclerc also moved ahead of Hamilton, securing fourth place after the penalty was applied.

Isack Hadjar finished sixth in the other Red Bull car. George Russell placed seventh after a difficult start to the race, which saw him drop to 21st due to an anti-stall issue. Racing Bulls achieved a double points finish with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, who came in eighth and 10th, respectively, flanking Audi‘s Nico Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg’s teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto, narrowly missed out on points, finishing 11th.

Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, with their updated cars, secured 13th and 14th positions. They separated the Alpine cars of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, and finished ahead of both Haas and Williams cars. Piastri watched the final 15 laps from the sidelines after his retirement. The Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas, who experienced overheating brakes, and Sergio Perez, who had a front-left issue, also did not finish the race.

Qualifying and Early Race Action

In a close qualifying session at the Hungaroring circuit, Norris secured pole position by a margin of 0.012 seconds over Hamilton. Leclerc qualified third, and championship leader Antonelli was fourth. However, both Hamilton and Antonelli received three-place grid penalties from the stewards. Hamilton was penalised for not slowing sufficiently under yellow flags, while Leclerc was penalised for impeding Piastri.

These penalties meant Norris started from the front, followed by Leclerc, Piastri, and Verstappen. Hamilton was demoted to fifth, ahead of Russell, and Antonelli dropped to seventh. Perez started from the pit lane after making set-up changes.

As the formation lap began, it was revealed that Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen opted for medium starting tyres. Leclerc and Hamilton chose soft tyres, aiming for an advantage on the long run to Turn 1. Bortoleto, Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Stroll also started on soft tyres, while the rest of the field used mediums.

At the start, Norris maintained his lead. Piastri overtook Leclerc to follow his teammate into the first corner, and Verstappen battled with the two Ferrari cars. Piastri then moved into the lead at Turn 2, passing Norris. Hamilton also passed his teammate Leclerc for fourth and made contact with Verstappen. Russell experienced a difficult start, dropping from seventh to 21st due to an anti-stall issue.

As the race progressed, Piastri held a lead of just over a second from Norris, followed by Verstappen, Hamilton, and Leclerc. Antonelli was in sixth, having gained a position due to Russell’s poor start. Hadjar, Lawson, Lindblad, and Hulkenberg completed the top 10 positions. On Lap 13, Russell had moved up to 11th.

Hamilton made the first front-running pit stop on Lap 14, changing from soft to hard tyres. He rejoined in ninth and quickly overtook Lindblad. Verstappen responded on Lap 15, also switching to hard tyres from mediums, and rejoined behind Hamilton. Verstappen then made a pass on Hamilton into Turn 1 at the start of the next lap. Piastri and Leclerc pitted on Lap 17, followed by Norris on the subsequent lap. Antonelli continued for a few more laps before pitting for hards on Lap 22. Piastri regained the lead but faced pressure from Norris. Verstappen fell to third, followed by Hamilton, Leclerc, and Antonelli. Russell climbed to seventh before pitting for hards on Lap 28. Bottas retired due to smoke in the cockpit on Lap 30, with overheating brakes suspected as the cause. Hamilton made his second stop for hards on Lap 30.

On Lap 33, Piastri pitted for another set of hards.

Source: formula1.com