Lando Norris secured his first victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, navigating a dramatic race at the Hungaroring. The McLaren driver, who is the reigning F1 World Champion, crossed the finish line ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
Norris started from pole position but lost the lead to his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap. Piastri executed a cutback at Turn 2 to move ahead, establishing an early advantage.
Piastri’s race unravelled midway through when he made contact with Carlos Sainz, who was driving for Williams and being lapped. The incident occurred as Piastri attempted to put a lap on Sainz, who was battling Fernando Alonso for 15th position.
The contact cost Piastri crucial seconds, allowing Norris to pit and emerge in the net lead of the race. Piastri expressed significant frustration over the incident, stating it was ‘one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen on a race track’.
‘I mean, he was fighting Fernando [Alonso] for last place like it was the World Championship, and cost me the lead of the race.’
Piastri’s afternoon worsened when his gearbox failed on Lap 56, forcing his retirement from second place. This eliminated McLaren’s prospect of a one-two finish.
Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull, 15.080 seconds behind Norris. Kimi Antonelli completed the podium for Mercedes, securing third place.
Antonelli’s third-place finish extended his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton to 50 points, with Antonelli now on 219 points to Hamilton’s 169. Antonelli had started seventh after a three-place grid penalty for impeding Piastri during qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton, driving for Ferrari, initially crossed the line in fourth but was demoted to sixth after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This promoted his teammate Charles Leclerc to fourth.
Hamilton had also incurred a three-place grid drop earlier in the weekend for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags. George Russell, also for Mercedes, recovered from an anti-stall issue at the start that dropped him to 19th, to finish seventh.
The Hungarian Grand Prix results are as follows:
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
6. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
7. George Russell (Mercedes)
8. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
10. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
Other finishers included Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Esteban Ocon (Haas), Alex Albon (Williams), and Carlos Sainz (Williams). Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Sergio Perez (Cadillac), and Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) retired from the race.
The 2026 Formula 1 season now enters its mandatory summer break, with 11 races completed. Racing will resume on August 23rd with the Dutch Grand Prix.
