Hungarian Grand Prix: Lando Norris back on top, Kimi Antonelli extends Formula 1 Title lead as Ferrari flop
F1 NewsSunday, 26 July 2026 at 16:44
Lando Norris won the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix from pole, with Max Verstappen managing second as Kimi Antonelli took third place.
It was a bitter sweet result for McLaren who seemed to be on their way to a one-two finish until the gearbox on Oscar Piastri's car called it a day on Lap 56.
Nevertheless, it was a great day for reigning Formula 1 Champion, Norris, who was back to his winning ways after starting the race from pole.
The two McLarens fighting for the lead ⚔️
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2026
Max and Lewis battling for P3 😮
WATCH THE RACE START 👇#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/XkkBkBpc2N
However, it was not a straightforward win for Norris who was mugged by Piastri into the lead as the Australian went on to lead from his teammate keeping him at bay.
It seemed that Piastri was on his way to take the win until the second round of pitstops where McLaren pitted him before his teammate on Lap 34, where he ended up being hit by a clueless Carlos Sainz too busy to see the Blue flags while fighting with Alonso.
Here’s the Sainz/Piastri moment 💥#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/IYkdAQYTTi
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2026
McLaren pitted Norris Lap 39 after which he took the lead with Piastri voicing his discontent over the team radio, not convinced his race was undone by the Sainz incident.
But little did the Aussie know that it was about to get worse as his MCL40 broke down on Lap 56 with a broken gearbox.
From fighting for the win to pulling up at the side of the track
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2026
A desperately unlucky afternoon for Oscar 😫#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/ZX19BSdE8L
From there on, the coast was clear for Norris to go on and take the win, the first driver to win from pole in Hungary since 2020.
Verstappen was an over-achieving second in the Red Bull Racing RB22, having had a great start from fourth on the grid which put him in contention for a podium.
The Dutchman was then locked in a fight with Lewis Hamilton who managed to undercut him after the first round of pit stops, but Verstappen then surprised Hamilton with an opportunistic pass.
Verstappen... from downtown! 🤯
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2026
Max passes Lewis at Turn 1 🎥#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/CO10DyFUVv
Hamilton was busy passing Liam Lawson when Verstappen took advantage and passed the Ferrari and from there drove a somehow lonely race to take second, also benefiting from Piastri's retirement as Red Bull opted to leave him out under the Virtual Safety Car preserving track position.
On a weekend when Verstappen was not happy with any aspect of his RB22, aerodynamics, shifts... you name it, salvaging P2 meant the four-time Formula 1 Champion can head into the summer break quite content with his efforts.
Antonelli was third in the Mercedes, a solid effort from the Championship leader who managed to extend his lead after a setback on Saturday when he qualified fourth and then dropped to seventh due to a penalty for not slowing under Yellow flags.
Mercedes kept Antonelli out long hoping to make a one-stop strategy work but they had to pit him again towards the end on Lap 54 just before the VSC was out due to Piastri's retirement
While Ferrari pitted Hamilton under the VSC, he exited side by side with Antonelli but the latter was slightly ahead with the #44 Ferrari having to cede position.
Hamilton pits under the Virtual Safety Car and moves ahead of Antonelli
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2026
But he came back out on track inches behind the Mercedes driver 👀
Lewis has given the place back#F1 #HungarianGP | LAP 57/70 pic.twitter.com/sRT3av4qHT
From there on, Antonelli went on the take the final podium position while managing to extend his lead over Hamilton to 50 points in the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' Championship.
Behin the top three
Behind the top three, Charles Leclerc was fourth ahead of Hamilton, who was fifth after being slapped with a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
It has to be said that Hamilton had the advantage over his teammate this weekend which, on the other hand, was marred with issues and errors.
🚨 FIVE-SECOND PENALTY FOR HAMILTON
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2026
Speeding in the pit lane #F1 #HungarianGP | LAP 66/70 pic.twitter.com/fkeKMCSOBu
Hamilton qualified second on Saturday but was dropped three positions for impeding Piastri in Q3 and then received the five-second penalty towards the end of the race.
But Ferrari, pre-race favorites, once again flopped and flattered to deceive as their SF-26 ate through its tyres all race long while Hamilton's qualifying penalty was clearly an operational error with the team failing to inform him of Piastri's position.
Behind the Ferraris, Isack Hadjar was sixth in the other Red Bull Racing car ahead of George Russell who was seventh in the other Mercedes.
Something keeps going wrong for Russell. If it is not a software glitch, it is anti-stall which was the case in Hungary as he dropped down the order to P18 at the start.
From there on, Russell was facing an uphill task to try and salvage his race and could only salvage seventh while also dropping further away from his teammate who is leading the Championship - the gap is now 59 points.
Racing Bulls had a solid weekend with Liam Lawson finishing P8 with Arvid Lindblad P10 as they were split by Nico Hulkenberg in P9 for Audi.
As for the Aston Martin watch, Lance Stroll was P13 ahead of Fernando Alonso was P14. The Spaniard's Monaco P10 remains at his best position but we know how penalties played a role at that one. This P14 was on merit.
What the top three said
Speaking in parc ferme after taking his 12th Formula 1 win, Norris said: “I don’t know what happened, to be honest. I just kept losing the rear, I had like three or four big snaps. It felt horrible.
“Oscar did a good job to get the cut back and get back past. I think I was just a bit wide in the dirt, and game over for the first lap.
“But I was pushing like hell to try to force him into a mistake or something. My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had. The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident, so a great race.
“And to get it back in terms of going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good I could always extend the stints, and fresh tyres then always won me the race.
“I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again," he concluded.
Verstappen was clearly content with second, he added: "I didn't expect to be on the podium today. But we worked hard for it.
"The start was decent to get through Turns One and Two. Then after the first stop to get back ahead of Lewis under braking into Turn One. Then just trying to survives on the compounds and make the right calls with the strategy too.
"Very happy considering to be second here," the Red Bull ace concluded.
As for Antonelli, he was satisfied that he limited the damage to his Title fight on a weekend where Mercedes did not have the edge.
"It was a tough race," he admitted. "It was really hard to overtake so we had to do something with strategy.
"Initially we tried to go for the one stop but then they told me the tyre was too much on the limit, so we stopped.
"With the Virtual Safety Car the two Ferraris boxed. I knew it would be very hard because I was on hards, they were on softs, but luckily we were able to keep them behind.
"Of course I'm very happy and it's the best way to go into the summer break. I think today was big damage limitation and we've got to jeep pushing because the second half is going to be hard, but we'll try our best."
Hungarian Grand Prix Provisional Classification
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