Formula One was back in action for the FORMULA 1 AWS HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX 2026 at the Hungaroring. It’s a circuit that, traditionally, tends to benefit the teams that don’t have outright straight-line speed. This helps to explain how Lando Norris managed to become the season’s first non-Mercedes grand prix pole sitter.
Both McLarens got off the line well, putting themselves in 1-2 before the first corner. Oscar Piastri promoted himself to the lead in the second corner after his teammate ran wide. Charles Leclerc, who started on used soft tyres, struggled with the start, dropping down to P5. George Russell had the worst start of anyone, suffering from anti-stall and dropping down to P20.
Lewis Hamilton applied some pressure to Max Verstappen in the opening corners in the battle for P3. The two made wheel-to-wheel contact in the turn two. Hamilton was all over the back of the Red Bull in the opening laps, but could not get by, despite being on the faster soft compound tyres.
Hamilton was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 14, taking a set of medium tyres. He rejoined behind Arvid Lindblad, overtaking the Racing Bulls driver with an impressive move around the outside of turn five. This was critical for the success of Hamilton’s undercut. Verstappen pitted on the following lap, but rejoined behind the Ferrari driver. It was only temporary, as he overtook the Brit with a huge lunge into the first corner.
Piastri pitted on lap 16, after having his pit stop delayed by a lap when Valtteri Bottas parked his Cadillac in the pit entry with a brake fire. Norris followed him on the next lap. This left Kimi Antonelli in the lead and Isack Hadjar in P2.
Hadjar played the team game for Red Bull, bunching up the field. He eventually pitted after being overtaken by Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, and Hamilton, but he had managed to nullify the gap between that battle.
As the race ticked on, Norris became frustrated being stuck behind his teammate, despite having better pace. McLaren refused multiple requests over the team radio to swap positions and even refused to let Norris pit early. Norris’ pace advantage was showcased when he ran wide in turn four and lost roughly a second to Piastri, but gained that again in only a couple of laps.
Piastri was the first of the duo to make their second pit stop for new hards on lap 33. This unleashed Norris to prove his pace out front, which he did by increasing the gap to Verstappen behind. McLaren opted to extend his stint slightly.
If Piastri had any hope of retaking the race lead when Norris pitted, it was undone as he made his way through lapped traffic. He came across Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, who were battling for position. Sainz ran wide and then came back across the track, causing wheel-to-wheel contact with the overtaking McLaren. Piastri was pushed onto the grass, but was able to save the car. He did get by Sainz, but it cost him some time, which ensured that Norris would retain the race lead when he pitted on lap 39.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter much for Piastri. His McLaren came to a halt with a gearbox failure on lap 56, bringing out the virtual safety car.
This was a poorly timed VSC for Antonelli, who had made his second pit stop only a couple of laps earlier. He did a good job to extend his stint at the start of the race and was looking like he could run the hard tyres until the end of the race, but Mercedes didn’t think the tyres would last the distance. Had he stayed out a couple of more laps, the VSC could have benefited him hugely.
As it was, Norris, Hamilton, and Leclerc took the opportunity to take a set of soft tyres for the final stint of the race. Hamilton rejoined the circuit alongside Antonelli. He was briefly ahead, but replays showed that the Ferrari was actually narrowly behind the Mercedes at the pit exit, so Hamilton gave back the position on the following lap. To make matters worse for the Brit, he was penalized for speeding in the pit lane.
Another driver who got an advantage from the VSC was Verstappen. He didn’t pit, but gained track position as others did to take P2. He was running on the soft tyres, which he had fitted on lap 40. He managed to make his tyres last until the end of the race to take P2.
But it was Lando Norris who took the chequered flag for the first time since winning his first World Drivers’ Championship title last year. Kimi Antonelli claimed the bottom step of the podium. Leclerc finished P5 on the road, but was promoted to P4 after his teammate’s five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane was applied.
The Hungarian Grand Prix marks the end of the first half of the 2026 season and the start of the summer break and the two-week mandatory shutdown for teams. The season will resume in one month’s time at Zandvoort for the final Dutch Grand Prix. The race will be leaving the calendar in style with a sprint weekend format, offering more action over the weekend of August 23.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70 | 1:39:56.180 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 70 | +15.080 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 70 | +18.728 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 70 | +23.840 | 12 |  | |
| 5 | 70 | +24.540 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 70 | +55.488 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 70 | +57.503 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 69 | +1 Lap | 4 | ||
| 9 | 69 | +1 Lap | 2 | ||
| 10 | 69 | +1 Lap | 1 | ||
| 11 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 12 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 13 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 14 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 15 | 68 | +2 Laps | |||
| 16 | 68 | +2 Laps | |||
| 17 | 68 | +2 Laps | |||
| 18 | 68 | +2 Laps | |||
| 19 | 68 | +2 Laps | |||
| DNF | 55 | ||||
| DNF | 48 | ||||
| DNF | 13 |
| 1 | K. Antonelli | 219 |  | |
| 2 | L. Hamilton | 169 | -50 | |
| 3 | G. Russell | 160 | -59 | |
| 4 | C. Leclerc | 138 | -81 | |
| 5 | L. Norris | 128 | -91 | |
| 1 | Mercedes | 379 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 307 | -72 | |
| 3 | McLaren | 220 | -159 | |
| 4 | Red Bull | 177 | -202 | |
| 5 | Racing Bulls | 66 | -313 |  |
