Hungarian Grand Prix: Pole for Norris
Sunny. Dry. Air +27°C, track +47…45°C
The practice sessions at the Hungaroring this time were tumultuous and filled with incidents, with all sessions interrupted by red flags – the Hungarian track turned out to be unexpectedly challenging for the 2026 cars.
The competitive order depended on the state of the asphalt, the temperature of the asphalt, and the direction of the wind – and changed several times. On Friday, the fastest were the Ferrari drivers – Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheet, while on Saturday morning Lando Norris set the best time. The results of the drivers from the top teams were tight, with everything decided by tenths.
Overtaking at the Hungarian track is difficult, the starting position is crucial, but the qualifier winner rarely wins here – the last time a pole sitter won this race was Hamilton in 2020.
One of the main topics of discussion throughout the weekend was the appearance of Adrian Newey's new car – the Aston Martin AMR26 "specification B". The qualifying session allowed for an assessment of its potential.
Pirelli brought a "soft" trio of compounds to the stage – C3, C4, and C5 serving as Hard, Medium, and Soft. The softest compound on the slippery asphalt provided a noticeable speed advantage but quickly lost effectiveness.
There were many fans already on Friday, with real crowds greeting the drivers in the morning, and by the start of qualifying, there were no free seats in the stands.
In the first session, Ferrari drivers made their first attempt on Medium, saving a set of soft tires, while the others immediately went out on Soft. Sainz went off in the 4th corner, ruining his attempt but continued driving.
Leclerc had his lap time canceled for exceeding track limits, and he completed a second consecutive lap – the Medium tires allowed it, and there was enough fuel.
Bortoleto also had his lap canceled – during his off-track excursion, he harshly scraped the bottom on the curb, and the mechanics had to check everything.
In the first attempt, Norris set the best time with a lap of 1:18.277.
Norris, Hamilton, Hadjar, and Piastri opted out of a second attempt, while Leclerc went out again on Medium. Antonelli improved, moving up to second place, but went off track and remained third.
Norris's result remained the best. Berman, Sainz, Albon, Stroll, Bottas, and Perez were eliminated from further contention.
Alonso made it to the second part of qualifying for the first time this season.
In the second session, everyone went out on Soft. Alonso was the first to start his attempt. Hadjar spun on a fast lap, continued driving, and returned to the pits.
In the first attempt, Hamilton topped the timesheet with 1:17.931. In the second, the results improved with each lap, and ultimately Norris set the best time again – 1:17.456.
Lawson, Gasly, Colapinto, Bortoleto, Ocon, and Alonso did not make it to the final.
In the final, everyone went out on Soft. In the first attempt, Hamilton was the fastest – 1:17.219. Lando made a mistake in the last corner and lost a tenth.
In the final attempt, Hamilton did not improve; the team informed him too late that Piastri was approaching from behind – and he interfered with Oscar, who was on a fast lap. After reviewing this incident post-session, the stewards imposed the usual penalty in such cases, with a loss of three places on the grid.
Verstappen spun in the last corner – he continued driving, and when the yellow flags were lifted, Norris set the best time – 1:17.207. Antonelli did not slow down enough in the yellow flag zone – and received a penalty from the stewards with a loss of three places on the grid.
Russell's car stopped in the first corner due to technical issues. George exited the cockpit.
Lando Norris won the qualifying at the Hungaroring, securing his first pole of the season, second in Hungary, and 17th in his career.
Qualifying results
Driver
Team
1st session
2nd session
3rd session
Min
Time
Laps
Min
Time
Laps
Min
Time
Laps
1. L. Norris
McLaren
1
1:18.227
4
1
1:17.456
6
1
1:17.207
6
2. L. Hamilton
Ferrari
4
1:18.730
3
3
1:17.803
6
2
1:17.219
6
3. C. Leclerc
Ferrari
9
1:18.984
8
2
1:17.626
6
3
1:17.445
6
4. K. Antonelli
Mercedes
3
1:18.726
7
8
1:18.393
7
4
1:17.479
6
5. O. Piastri
McLaren
8
1:18.891
4
5
1:17.928
6
5
1:17.684
5
6. M. Verstappen
Red Bull
2
1:18.656
6
6
1:18.249
6
6
1:17.725
6
7. G. Russell
Mercedes
7
1:18.856
7
9
1:18.445
7
7
1:17.760
6
8. A. Hadjar
Red Bull
5
1:18.754
3
4
1:17.872
5
8
1:17.856
6
9. A. Lindblad
Racing Bulls
12
1:19.233
6
7
1:18.360
6
9
1:18.281
6
10. N. Hülkenberg
Audi
6
1:18.796
6
10
1:18.639
6
10
1:18.686
6
11. L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
11
1:19.161
6
11
1:18.765
6
12. P. Gasly
Alpine
13
1:19.741
6
12
1:18.844
6
13. F. Colapinto
Alpine
14
1:19.771
6
13
1:19.027
6
14. G. Bortoleto
Audi
10
1:19.069
6
14
1:19.105
5
15. E. Ocon
Haas
15
1:20.010
6
15
1:19.734
6
16. F. Alonso
Aston Martin
16
1:20.126
9
16
1:19.808
6
17. O. Berman
Haas
17
1:20.233
6
18. C. Sainz
Williams
18
1:20.621
9
19. A. Albon
Williams
19
1:20.658
9
20. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
20
1:20.659
8
21. V. Bottas
Cadillac
21
1:20.886
10
22. S. Perez
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