Formula 1
HungarySeason 2026
The 70-lap race took place in hot and dry conditions, with the track temperature reaching approximately 55 °C (131 °F). Twenty-one drivers formed on the grid, while Sergio Pérez started from the pit lane following set up changes to his Cadillac.
Lando Norris (McLaren) started from pole position alongside Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) on the second row. Lewis Hamilton started fifth and Kimi Antonelli seventh after both had received three-place grid penalties following qualifying.
Norris, Piastri and Verstappen selected the medium-compound tyres, while Leclerc and Hamilton were among six drivers to start on softs; the remainder also began on mediums. Norris retained the lead into turn one, while Piastri passed Leclerc to move into second.
Piastri then gained a run on his teammate approaching turn two and used a cutback at the exit to take the lead after Norris ran wide. Verstappen emerged in third after going wheel-to-wheel with the Ferraris, with Hamilton passing Leclerc for fourth.
Further back, George Russell (Mercedes) triggered his car's anti-stall system at the start and fell from sixth to nineteenth. Piastri maintained a lead of approximately one second over Norris during the opening stint, with the two McLarens gradually pulling away from Verstappen.
Norris repeatedly told McLaren that he was faster than his teammate, but the team decided against exchanging their positions on a circuit where following another car closely was difficult. Verstappen reported problems with the suspension and gear shifts of his Red Bull, with Hamilton close behind, although Hamilton was unable to complete a pass.
Russell recovered rapidly through the lower order and had reached eleventh place by lap 13. Hamilton made the first pit stop among the leading drivers on lap 14, changing from soft to hard tyres.
Verstappen responded one lap later and rejoined behind Hamilton, but regained the position with a late-braking pass into turn one at the beginning of the following lap. Valtteri Bottas retired his Cadillac shortly afterwards with an overheated left-front brake, which had begun to smoke and catch fire as he returned to the pits.
Piastri and Leclerc stopped on lap 17, followed by Norris one lap later; Piastri narrowly retained his advantage over his teammate at the pit exit. Antonelli and Isack Hadjar, who had yet to stop, briefly led the race before Antonelli changed to hard tyres on lap 22.
After the first pit stop cycle, Piastri continued to lead Norris, with Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc following. Norris remained within approximately one second of Piastri but ran wide at turn four on lap 29 while applying pressure to his teammate.
Hamilton made his second stop on lap 30, and Norris asked McLaren to pit him before Piastri in an attempt to gain the undercut. McLaren rejected the request and stopped Piastri for another set of hard tyres on lap 33, leaving Norris in clear air and allowing him to extend his second tyre stint.
After rejoining, Piastri encountered Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams), who was racing Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) while blue flags were being displayed.
Sainz remained on the racing line and contact occurred at the exit of turn two as Piastri attempted to lap him, forcing Piastri partly off the circuit and costing him further time. The stewards determined that Sainz was responsible for the collision and imposed a five-second time penalty.
Norris recorded faster laps than Piastri despite using older tyres. Leclerc made his second stop on lap 37, while Norris continued until the end of lap 39 and rejoined approximately eight-tenths of a second ahead of Piastri.
The gap quickly increased as Norris took advantage of his fresher tyres. Verstappen subsequently made his second stop for soft tyres, while Antonelli continued to lead on the road.
Norris caught and passed Antonelli on lap 46 to reclaim first place, after which he opened a substantial advantage over Piastri. Pérez retired after completing 48 laps with a problem at the front-left of his Cadillac.
Antonelli made his second stop on lap 54, changing to soft tyres and rejoining in sixth place. Two laps later, Piastri reported a gearbox failure and stopped beside the circuit between turns one and two.
A virtual safety car was deployed to recover his car. Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc stopped for fresh tyres, while Verstappen remained on track and gained second place.
Antonelli, who had stopped shortly before the interruption, also stayed out. Hamilton initially emerged ahead of Antonelli, but returned the position after replays showed that the Mercedes had reached the relevant virtual-safety-car line first.
Hamilton was subsequently given a five-second time penalty for exceeding the 80 km/h (50 mph) pit lane speed limit by 0.1 km/h (0.062 mph) during his final stop. He pressured Antonelli during the closing laps but was unable to pass.
Norris controlled the restart and won over Verstappen, with Antonelli completing the podium. Hamilton crossed the finish line fourth but his penalty demoted him behind Leclerc to fifth.
Hadjar finished sixth, ahead of Russell, whose recovery ended in seventh. The final points positions were decided by a four-car contest between Racing Bulls and Audi.
The two-stopping Liam Lawson and Nico Hülkenberg used their fresher tyres to pass the one-stopping Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Bortoleto, finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Lindblad retained tenth place ahead of Bortoleto.
Pierre Gasly finished twelfth, while Lance Stroll and Alonso placed thirteenth and fourteenth in Aston Martin's upgraded cars. Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, Alexander Albon, Sainz and Oliver Bearman completed the classified finishers.
Bearman received a five-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags. Piastri, Pérez and Bottas were the race's three retirements.
Post-race and championship impact Norris's victory was the twelfth of his Formula One career, his first of the 2026 season and his first since becoming World Champion. It was also his second consecutive Hungarian Grand Prix victory and the first time he had won more than once at the same circuit.
Together with Piastri's victory in 2024, the result gave McLaren a third consecutive win at the Hungaroring and extended the constructor's record at the circuit to fourteen victories. The result represented McLaren's first Grand Prix win of the season and followed the introduction of a substantial upgrade package.
Norris described his race pace as among the strongest he had produced and said that the car had been particularly confidence-inspiring to drive. The victory increased his championship total to 128 points and reduced his deficit to fourth-placed Leclerc to ten points.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had considered Ferrari the pre-race favourite because of its low-speed cornering performance, but stated that McLaren's upgrades had performed as intended. Antonelli's third-place finish increased his Drivers' Championship total to 219 points.
He entered the summer break 50 points ahead of Hamilton, and 59 ahead of Russell. Leclerc held fourth with 138 points, followed by Norris with 128, Verstappen with 109 and Piastri with 92.
In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes remained first with 379 points, 72 ahead of Ferrari. McLaren increased its total to 220 points, with Red Bull fourth with 177.