Lando Norris snatched pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix from the Ferraris with an impressive final Q3 run in an upgraded McLaren.
In the final moments of qualifying, Norris crossed the line with a lap time of one minute, 17.207 seconds, perfectly timing his effort to avoid two late yellow flags brought out by a spinning Max Verstappen and a stranded George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton was unable to improve on his final Q3 run and had to settle for P2 ahead of Charles Leclerc. While championship leader Kimi Antonelli was only in P4 after a frustrating session for Mercedes.
However, post-qualifying the stewards have penalised Lewis Hamilton for impeding Oscar Piastri during his Q3 run. Meaning the Ferrari will lose his front row grid slot and drops down three positions. In addition, championship leader Kimi Antonelli also received a grid penalty for not slowing down significantly under yellow following Max Verstappen’s spin. The Mercedes driver will drop down three places on the grid.
Asked to park up by his team, Russell qualified P7 behind Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen as both Red Bull drivers suffered spins during the final segment.
Isack Hadjar claimed P8, with Arvid Lindblad and Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top ten qualifiers at the Hungaroring.
Heading into the decisive Q3 shootout, all the frontrunners had kept at least two fresh sets of Pirelli’s softest C5 tyres, with Hamilton leading Norris and Charles Leclerc after the first of two runs. Hamilton set a time of one minute, 17.219 seconds to be a tenth below Lando’s time, the McLaren driver losing time with a huge slide out of the final corner, with Charles another tenth behind.
The performance of Mercedes was a mystery as the dominant team appeared to struggle for balance across both cars on the bumpy and windy Hungaroring. Kimi Antonelli was fourth after the first set of runs ahead of Oscar Piastri, with George Russell split by the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. But neither team appeared to be a threat to either Ferrari or McLaren.
The decisive Q3 run confirmed as much, and the tricky conditions made it difficult to find additional lap time gain. Neither Hamilton or Leclerc did, but Norris went purple in sector two and then executed a much cleaner final sector to edge ahead of Hamilton by 0.012 seconds. It was enough for a first Grand Prix pole as the reigning world champion, with the McLaren driver having also taken a sprint pole in Miami.
Hamilton and Leclerc settled for second and third respectively, while championship leader Antonelli did improve on his final flying lap but had to settle for fourth, catching yellows in the final corner for a spin by Verstappen.
Piastri had been on the back foot all weekend compared to Norris and was fifth, while Verstappen could only manage sixth as a result of his spin on his second run.
Russell also caught yellows as Verstappen returned to the circuit, but had not been on a better second lap anyway. Hadjar was eighth, with midfielders Arvid Lindblad and Nico Hulkenberg impressing to take ninth and tenth respectively.
In Q2, Hadjar spun his Red Bull in Turn 12 on his first lap as Hamilton initially claimed the top of the timesheets with one minute, 17.931 seconds. The Ferrari driver enjoyed a 0.247 seconds gap to Antonelli, who complained of a complete lack of grip, suggesting Mercedes was “doing something wrong with tyres”.
Norris ended up quickest with one minute, 17.456 seconds from Leclerc and Hamilton, while Hadjar recovered from his spin to go fourth quickest as all the other frontrunners also comfortably advanced to Q3.
Fernando Alonso was the surprise package of Q2 as he and Aston Martin finally made it through into the second qualifying segment thanks to the all-new AMR26 for Hungary with significant car upgrades.
Alonso set his Q2 laps earlier than the rest of the pack to avoid the traffic, but P16 was the best the two-time world champion could only achieve.
Of the midfield runners, Lindblad impressed in seventh and Hulkenberg snagged the final Q3 spot in P10. That dropped out Liam Lawson, who complained of an undriveable car.
Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto was also eliminated, as was Gabriel Bortoleto and Haas driver Esteban Ocon, although the latter did snap a streak of defeats against his teammate Oliver Bearman.
Norris took the early lead in Q1 with a time of one minute, 18.277 seconds on softs ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli. Ferrari had enough confidence to try and advance on mediums, with Hamilton’s one minute, 18.730 seconds lap good for fourth.
At the rear of the field all eyes were on Aston Martin with the B-spec, and whether or not the Silverstone outfit’s mid-season changes would be enough to escape the rear of the grid. Following encouraging signs in free practice, Alonso confirmed Aston Martin has worked itself into Formula 1’s midfield, squeezing through at the expense of Bearman, who complained of a “horrible” car balance.
Aston Martin’s big performance upgrade also lifted it over Williams, aided by the Hungaroring not being a power sensitive circuit where Honda’s deficit compared to the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari. But Williams was also particularly poor in its own right, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon P18 and P19 as the latter was confused by the constantly changing balance on the FW48.
Behind Lance Stroll in P20, Cadillac was the slowest team on the grid with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez departing from the back row.
So great news to see the defending champion back on top with pole position. It will be fascinating if McLaren has got good race pace to stay ahead of the Ferraris.
Hungarian Grand Prix, qualifying results:
1 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.207
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:17.445
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.684
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Ford 1:17.725
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:17.219*
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:17.760
7 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:17.479**
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Ford 1:17.856
9 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Ford 1:18.281
10 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:18.686
11 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Ford 1:18.765
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes 1:18.844
13 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes 1:19.027
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:19.105
15 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 1:19.734
16 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda 1:19.808
17 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 1:20.233
18 Carlos Sainz Williams-Mercedes 1:20.621
19 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1:20.658
20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda 1:20.659
21 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 1:20.886
22 Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari 1:21.322
*Three-place grid drop for impeding Oscar Piastri during Q3
**Three-place grid drop for not slowing down under yellow flags
Lando Norris clinched pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix with an impressive last-gasp effort to beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, making the most of his upgraded McLaren.
In the dying moments of Q3, Norris crossed the line with a 1m 17.207s lap, perfectly timing his effort to avoid two late yellow flags brought out by a spinning Max Verstappen and a stranded George Russell.
Hamilton was unable to improve on his final lap and took P2 ahead of Leclerc, while Kimi Antonelli settled for fourth place in a frustrating session for Mercedes.
Asked to park up by his team, Russell qualified P7 behind Oscar Piastri and Verstappen as both Red Bull drivers suffered spins during the final segment.
Isack Hadjar claimed P8, with Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top-10 qualifiers at the Hungaroring.
Liam Lawson failed to make it into the final part of Qualifying by 0.126s and will start the Hungarian Grand Prix from P11, leading Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto. Gabriel Bortoleto took an underwhelming P14 for Audi from Esteban Ocon and a much-improved Fernando Alonso.
Ollie Bearman was outqualified by his Haas team mate and wound up P17, missing out on a spot in Q2 by just over a tenth. He was joined in being knocked out by the Williams duo of Carlos Sainz (P18) and Alex Albon (P19), both of whom expressed their frustrations with the car after the session.
While Alonso made the most of his updated Aston Martin, his team mate Lance Stroll settled for P20 ahead of Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/norris-snatches-pole-position-from-hamilton-in-gripping-hungarian-gp-qualifying.6FcjwTeRfUdjidtY0vkKZN
Fernando Alonso reckons qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix was an “important” boost for the Aston Martin Formula 1 team after his first Q2 appearance in grand prix qualifying in the 2026 campaign.
The two-time champion took 16th at the Hungaroring to end Aston Martin’s run of five consecutive qualifying sessions occupying the back row, with a deficit of around two seconds.
Fernando Alonso reckons qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix was an “important” boost for the Aston Martin Formula 1 team after his first Q2 appearance in grand prix qualifying in the 2026 campaign.
The two-time champion took 16th at the Hungaroring to end Aston Martin’s run of five consecutive qualifying sessions occupying the back row, with a deficit of around two seconds.
“It was important,” said Alonso. “Definitely, it was important for everyone in the team as it has been a tough period in both factories.
“Having the deficit that we had in terms of performance in the first half of the year, and this package obviously didn’t change many positions, but it changed a lot the momentum of everyone in the factory.
“It’s not anymore that we are chasing something that we don’t know. We know exactly what we are looking for and we know exactly the targets for the next package or the targets for next year.
“So that’s, I think for me, the biggest change of this weekend.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fernando-alonso-f1-hungarian-gp-an-important-lift-for-aston-martin/10841803/
Lando Norris admitted to feeling “pleasantly surprised” about beating Ferrari pair Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, having delivered a pair of laps in Q3 that he described as “not the best”.
Norris, who topped Saturday’s third and final practice session, was one of several contenders for pole around the tight, twisty Hungaroring circuit, with McLaren’s upgrade package appearing to deliver a step forward.
While Hamilton led the way after the opening Q3 runs, neither the Briton nor Ferrari team mate Leclerc managed to improve on their second, which gave Norris a chance that he duly took by going 0.012 seconds quicker.
“I’m very, very happy – very happy to be back on top,” said Norris, with the result marking his and McLaren’s first pole of 2026. “A tough, tough Quali. Obviously these guys here [the Ferrari drivers] were very quick. It’s been pretty tight the whole weekend.
“We’ve seemed quick from the first laps that we did. We brought a few upgrades, and it’s hard to know how much it helps in terms of lap time, but it certainly helped today.
“I’m very, very happy to be back on top, especially at a track where you want to be on pole.”
Pushed on how the pole shootout unfolded, he added: “Honestly, I had confidence the whole of today. My laps in Q3 were not the best, even the one at the end, so I’m pleasantly surprised to be on top.
“We’ve been doing a good job, the car’s been feeling good, I’ve had good confidence. I certainly pushed it a little bit more on the last lap… some paid off, some didn’t, but the main thing is we did it in the end.
“I’m very, very pleased for the team, a big thanks to them for working so hard, and another big job tomorrow.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/norris-pleasantly-surprised-to-beat-very-quick-ferrari-drivers-to-hungarian-gp-pole.6YPCL7Vkk8SmT6imvLI0nc
Qualifying at the Hungaroring turned out to be a disappointing affair for Red Bull. Ahead of the weekend, team principal Laurent Mekies hoped that the energy-rich circuit near Budapest would suit the RB22 slightly better, but reality proved far more difficult than expected.
Verstappen will start Sunday’s race from sixth on the grid, while team-mate Isack Hadjar will line up one row further back in eighth. To make matters worse, Verstappen also spun at the final corner, something he believes summed up the entire session.
“The weekend has been difficult in general, but when instead of the tyres degrading, your car is degrading, then you have a big problem. So that’s what’s happening,” Verstappen said.
Verstappen made that clear over the team radio immediately afterwards. Following his spin, he told the team: “The car is just completely broken aerodynamically, it’s just getting worse and worse. What a joke. What a joke honestly, what a shit weekend.”
Speaking to Dutch media in the paddock, Verstappen explained that the team could see those aerodynamic issues in the data – though he could not yet specify what they were – to the point where the car became “undriveable”.
“The car just kept developing more oversteer and all the problems only got worse. I arrived at the final corner and the car just spun again. At one point, the car simply became impossible to drive,” he said.
Where Verstappen’s previous two crashes were caused by the rotating rear wing, he says the most frustrating aspect is that the issue is different every time: “There’s always something different happening. It’s difficult for me to make sense of it, because I don’t know exactly what the problem was myself.
“But it’s clear that something was wrong again, because they already told me during qualifying that something wasn’t right in the data and that they could see the aerodynamics deteriorating.
“That’s obviously not what you want during qualifying, and by that point you can’t even adjust the front wing anymore. Then the whole car is no longer in the right balance.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/max-verstappen-sees-mysterious-issues-at-red-bull-desperate-im-already-past-that-stage/10841835/
Lewis Hamilton has received a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix after he impeded Oscar Piastri during Qualifying, with the Briton originally claiming P2 during the session.
As the top-10 drivers prepared for their final laps, Ferrari looked to be in direct competition with McLaren’s Lando Norris for pole position, and it was Hamilton who provisionally took the top spot.
However, Norris found the time he needed to qualify P1 for the first time this season, relegating the 41-year-old to second place before it was then revealed that Hamilton would be investigated after Qualifying.
The incident unfolded as Piastri was trying to improve on his last attempt, which Hamilton was unaware of. He blocked the Australian at Turn 1, forcing him to go over track limits, abort his lap and settle for P5.
Hamilton admitted straight after Qualifying: “I think my mind is just elsewhere right this second, because once I’d finished my lap, I don’t know if I got in the way of someone, so I’m just trying to run that through my mind, because I wasn’t aware anyone was coming.”
It was confirmed that he would be penalised with a grid drop, relegating him to P5 on the grid and promoting Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Piastri by one position each.
The document released after the hearing reads: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), the driver of Car 81 (Oscar Piastri), team representatives and reviewed video, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“At the approach to Turn 1, Car 44 was travelling at a significantly reduced speed on the racing line while Car 81 was approaching on a push lap.
“The driver of Car 44 explained that he had just completed a fast lap and did not receive the team’s radio message regarding the approaching Car 81 until the latter was already in close proximity. He further stated that, due to the positioning of his car on the track, Car 81 was not visible in his mirrors.
“Car 81, which was on a push lap, was forced to take avoiding action by running wide and being obliged to abort the lap.
“Having examined the available evidence, the Stewards determined that Car 44 unnecessarily impeded Car 81 during Qualifying.
“In accordance with the FIA F1 Regulations and the established penalty guidelines for this type of infringement in Qualifying, the Stewards impose a three-place grid penalty on the driver of Car 44.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/hamilton-loses-p2-following-qualifying-incident-at-the-hungarian-grand-prix.1svitW7uI3dLQv3ud7Heg6
F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli has been given a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix after a rule violation during Saturday’s Qualifying session.
In a post-Qualifying investigation, Antonelli was found to have failed to slow sufficiently for yellow flags brought out when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spun in Q3, breaching Appendix H, Article 2.5.5 b) of the International Sporting Code and B1.8.4a of the FIA F1 Regulations.
Antonelli had qualified fourth fastest and provisionally gained a spot on the grid due to Lewis Hamilton’s three-place drop for impeding McLaren rival Oscar Piastri at the end of Q3.
However, the Italian will now fall back down the grid to P7 for Sunday’s race, adding to the task ahead of him as he looks to extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
After reviewing all available evidence and reaching their decision, the stewards’ document explained: “The driver of Car 12 (Antonelli) stated that on seeing the yellow flag and light panel, he lifted off the throttle earlier than his previous push lap. This was verified by the telemetry.
“However, the reduction in speed occurred for a very short period, and in fact the car’s speed when passing the scene of the incident involving Car 3 (Verstappen) was slightly higher than that on the previous push lap.
“The mini sector time was only 0.03 seconds slower than his best time for that mini sector, and whilst, because he had lifted 16 metres earlier, he was 14 km/h slower entering the yellow flag sector, [he] was 3 km/h faster when passing the incident site due to less application of the brakes entering the corner.
“The FIA representatives noted that the speed reduction in the mini sector was less than 1%.
“The Stewards considered this incident to be different to other incidents that have resulted in no further action, because unlike those cases, there was no significant speed delta through the mini sector compared to the driver’s previous fastest time under similar circumstances.
“The recommended penalty according to the penalty guidelines, for this offence, is a drop of five grid positions, however in mitigation of penalty, we considered that the driver did make a reduction in speed, albeit, in our determination, an insufficient and unsustained one.
“Further, the driver had limited time and distance to react. Hence a lower penalty is applied.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/antonelli-hit-with-grid-penalty-for-hungarian-gp-after-yellow-flag-breach-in-qualifying.1C9AT9OzLEOIUNzDfTsgdL