Lando Norris of McLaren managed to snatch pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, edging out Lewis Hamilton despite the Ferrari driver later being relegated from second place on the starting grid due to an impeding penalty. Norris’s final lap in Q3 was just 0.012 seconds faster than Hamilton’s best effort, a razor‑thin margin that proved decisive after the British driver struggled to improve on his earlier time. Initially, Hamilton seemed poised to secure his first pole at the Hungaroring since his 2023 victory there, posting a lap that was a tenth of a second quicker than Norris after the first Q3 runs.
Yet the McLaren driver found an extra fraction of a second on his last attempt, while the rest of the field could not better their opening laps. The result was a surprise pole for Norris, who will line up alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the front row.
The grid order, however, was reshuffled after the stewards examined an incident in which Hamilton was judged to have impeded his teammate Oscar Piastri during the final flying lap. The penalty dropped Hamilton from second to fifth on the grid, promoting Piastri to third place.
Meanwhile, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, who currently sits 45 points behind Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship, qualified fourth but will start from seventh after receiving a three‑place grid drop for failing to adequately reduce speed under yellow‑flag conditions. Max Verstappen of Red Bull also benefited from the reshuffle.
After spinning at the final corner on his last lap – an incident that triggered the yellow flags that caught Antonelli off guard – Verstappen climbed two spots to start fourth. George Russell, despite a power‑unit failure that forced him to stop on track at the end of qualifying, will still start sixth.
Mercedes are allowed to replace his engine for the race without penalising the British driver, preserving his grid position. Norris’s pole marks his 17th career pole and his first since the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November 2025. It arrives at a weekend when McLaren introduced a substantial upgrade package aimed at addressing the car’s under‑performance earlier in the 2026 season.
Norris commented on the session, saying, “It was a tough qualifying. Ferrari were very quick, and the whole weekend has been tight, but we felt strong from the first laps and the upgrades helped, even if it’s hard to quantify the exact gain. I’m thrilled to be back on top, especially at a circuit where pole is so valuable.” The top ten was rounded out by Racing Bulls’ British rookie Arvid Lindblad in ninth place and Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg in tenth. Fernando Alonso, driving for Aston Martin, managed to get the team into Q2 for the first time this season, highlighting the progress made with a heavily upgraded car.
Although Alonso will start 16th after finishing last in Q2, his performance suggests the team is moving in the right direction ahead of the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, where Honda plans to introduce a major power‑unit upgrade. The revised grid positions are as follows: 1. Lando Norris (McLaren) 2.
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)* 6.
George Russell (Mercedes) 7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)* 8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 9.
Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) 10. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) *Both Hamilton and Antonelli received three‑place grid penalties. Hamilton’s resurgence with Ferrari this season has been notable, including a first‑ever Ferrari Grand Prix win in Barcelona and a sprint pole at Silverstone. Yet a pole at the Hungaroring has remained elusive.
After a strong showing in practice and the first two qualifying segments, Hamilton appeared set to complete a summer hat‑trick of victories by taking pole at the circuit where his last pole came in 2023 with Mercedes. However, a mistake in the first corner of his final lap – compounded by a series of errors that prevented any improvement – saw his time slip.
In post‑session comments, Hamilton admitted, “The last lap was the worst lap of all, and the other laps were good. We clearly had the car to be on pole today, and that just didn’t happen, so it’s tough to swallow.” He also explained that he was unaware of Piastri’s approach behind him, stating, “I was told literally when he was at the apex behind me, so I had no idea he was coming.
I thought everyone came out behind me. I was the first out, so I thought everyone had finished the lap.” The penalty for impeding Piastri was confirmed by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, who clarified that the infringement was a team issue rather than a driver error. As a result, Hamilton will now have to settle for a fifth‑place start, diminishing his chances of a front‑row launch and a potential podium finish on what has been Mercedes’ most challenging weekend of the season. Antonelli’s separate penalty for not slowing sufficiently under yellow flags offers a slight consolation for Hamilton’s title chase.
While Antonelli’s infraction also costs him three grid spots, it keeps the championship battle tighter, giving Hamilton an opportunity to reduce the 45‑point gap to his teammate Kimi Antonelli before the summer break. The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend schedule includes a full day of support races, with an F3 feature race at 7:35 am, the Porsche Supercup at 9:05 am, an F2 feature race at 10:20 am, followed by the Grand Prix build‑up at 12:30 pm, the main race at 2:00 pm, and post‑race analysis throughout the afternoon.
All sessions are broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, with streaming available via the NOW platform without a long‑term contract. Overall, the qualifying session highlighted the fine margins that define Formula 1.
A thousandth of a second can separate a pole‑sitter from a mid‑grid start, while penalties for impeding or ignoring yellow‑flag rules can dramatically reshuffle the order. As the teams head into race day, the focus will shift to strategy, tyre management, and the ability to convert qualifying positions into race results, especially for McLaren, who will be eager to capitalize on Norris’s pole and prove that their recent upgrades are bearing fruit.