McLaren’s Lando Norris returned to the top step of the podium for the first time this season after producing a strategic masterclass to win the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
“I don’t know what happened, to be honest,” Norris said.
“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.”
Starting from pole position, Norris initially led into Turn One before running wide through the opening corners, allowing team-mate Oscar Piastri to seize the lead. Max Verstappen slotted into third while Lewis Hamilton, who started fifth following a three-place grid penalty, gained a position on the opening lap to move into fourth. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc slipped behind Verstappen during the opening lap.
Ferrari opted to start Hamilton and Leclerc on the soft compound, while the other frontrunners around them began on mediums in a race expected to be decided by a two-stop strategy.
Hamilton spent the opening stint relentlessly pressuring Verstappen for third before Ferrari attempted the undercut at the end of Lap 13. The strategy initially paid off, with Hamilton emerging ahead after Verstappen made his stop a lap later.
Red Bull responded immediately. Verstappen reclaimed the position with a late move under braking into Turn One on Lap 16.
As the pit stop cycle continued, Antonelli inherited the race lead before making his first stop on Lap 22, while Norris extended his opening stint to strengthen his strategic options. Hamilton made his second stop on Lap 30 before overtaking Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar to return to sixth, while Leclerc followed a similar strategy later in the race.
The complexion of the Grand Prix changed on Lap 56 when Piastri stopped on track, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
McLaren immediately called Norris into the pits for fresh soft tyres, while Ferrari also brought in Hamilton and Leclerc. Verstappen stayed out to inherit second place, while Hamilton emerged from the pits ahead of Antonelli in third.
Ferrari reviewed the timing data and agreed with Mercedes that Antonelli had been ahead at the second Safety Car line (SC2). Rather than risk a penalty for gaining an advantage under the neutralisation, the Scuderia instructed Hamilton to hand the position back after the restart.
Hamilton duly yielded third place to the Mercedes on the restart before immediately setting about trying to reclaim the position. The Ferrari driver remained glued to Antonelli’s rear wing until a lock-up into Turn Two on Lap 60 briefly relieved the pressure. Hamilton closed back in during the closing stages, but a late five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane ultimately ended his chances of challenging for a podium and dropped him behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
At the front, Norris controlled the closing laps to secure victory ahead of Verstappen, with Antonelli completing the podium after withstanding the late pressure from Hamilton.
Asked whether McLaren can continue its winning form during the second half of the season, Norris said:
“I want to believe so. Considering how good it felt today, I certainly want to believe that we can continue it. There’s going to be moments where we’re going to struggle more and moments that might be even better.
“We know this track is a good one for us, probably one of my best suited track of the year. This is maybe as good as it can look for now, but I certainly believe we can still win races.
“I knew it was coming. The team have put so much work in to make a car that can finally win again. It’s nice to be able to do it for them.”
Verstappen admitted he had not expected to finish on the podium after a challenging weekend for Red Bull.
“I didn’t expect to be on the podium today,” Verstappen said.
“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 survive on the compounds and make the right calls with the strategy too.
“Very happy considering to be second here.”
Reflecting on his decisive pass on Hamilton, he added:
“I saw the opportunity. It was my only one. I just went for it. We’re good on the brakes, so that helped, but it was all under control.”
Antonelli was pleased to salvage another podium after a race dictated by strategy.
“It was a tough race,” Antonelli said.
“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.”
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, he added:
“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 keep pushing because the second half is going to be hard, but we’ll try our best.”
Hamilton later questioned Ferrari’s decision to pit under the Virtual Safety Car, believing it ultimately cost him a place on the podium.
“Yeah, I definitely don’t think we should have taken the stop,” Hamilton said.
“But the call came literally just before the pit lane entry and I didn’t have time to debate and you’ve got to trust the decision that has been taken.
“In hindsight, my tyres were totally fine. I was probably going to lose out to Max but I think I could have kept third at least.
“Then just opened up the door to obviously the penalty that I got in the end.”
Hamilton crossed the line fourth but dropped to fifth after his five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane promoted team-mate Charles Leclerc to fourth. Isack Hadjar secured an impressive sixth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in seventh, Liam Lawson finished eighth for Racing Bulls, Nico Hülkenberg claimed ninth for Audi, while Arvid Lindblad rounded out the points in tenth for Racing Bulls.
Formula 1 now enters its annual summer shutdown before the championship resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort from 28 to 30 August, marking the start of the final stretch of the 2026 season.
Official Race Results: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2026/races/1291/hungary/race-result
Official Teams’ Standings: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2026/team
Official Drivers’ Standings: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2026/drivers
