Lando Norris of McLaren managed to snatch the 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 after receiving a penalty for impeding another competitor. Hamilton had looked set to claim his first pole at this venue in three years, posting a time just a tenth of a second faster than Norris in the early part of the final qualifying session (Q3). Yet Norris found a few extra hundredths on his last flying lap while his rivals could not improve, allowing him to overtake his British rival by a razor‑thin margin of 0.012 seconds. In the end, Norris will line up on the front row alongside Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, and his pole would have stood regardless of Hamilton's subsequent penalty.
The British driver was later demoted from second to fifth on the grid after the stewards ruled that he had obstructed his teammate Oscar Piastri during the closing stages of Q3. The penalty not only cost Hamilton valuable track position but also reshuffled the order behind him. Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, who currently trails Hamilton by 45 points in the Drivers' Championship, originally qualified fourth but will start the race from seventh place.
He incurred a three‑place grid drop for failing to reduce speed sufficiently under yellow‑flag conditions that were deployed after Max Verstappen spun on his final flying lap. Verstappen’s spin, which occurred at the last corner, triggered the yellow flags that Antonelli ignored, resulting in his own penalty. Piastri, benefiting from Hamilton’s infraction, moves up to third on the grid. Verstappen, despite his spin, climbs two spots to occupy fourth place.
Meanwhile, George Russell, who has struggled for pace all weekend and qualified only seventh, will start ahead of his Mercedes teammate in sixth after the team’s remarkable streak of ten consecutive pole positions to start the season has finally come to an end. Russell’s power unit failed at the very end of qualifying, forcing him to stop on track. Mercedes will replace the engine for the race, and the Brit will not be penalised for the change. The pole for Norris marks his 17th career pole position and his first since the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November of the previous year.
It arrives at a weekend when McLaren introduced a substantial upgrade package to a car that, until now, had been underperforming in the 2026 campaign. Norris praised the upgrades, saying they had helped the team find extra speed, even if the exact gain was difficult to quantify. He expressed delight at returning to the top step of the podium, especially on a circuit where starting from pole is crucial. Rookie Arvid Lindblad continued his impressive form for Racing Bulls by securing ninth place, while veteran Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten for Audi.
Fernando Alonso offered a glimmer of optimism for Aston Martin, guiding his heavily upgraded car into Q2 for the first time this season. Although Alonso will start 16th after finishing last in Q2, the performance signals progress ahead of the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, where Aston Martin’s engine supplier Honda plans to roll out a major upgrade. The provisional top ten after penalties reads 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 Hulkenberg (Audi). The asterisks denote drivers who have been demoted by three‑place grid penalties.
Hamilton’s resurgence with Ferrari this season has been notable, yet a Grand Prix pole has remained elusive. After his first Ferrari victory in Barcelona and a sprint pole at Silverstone, the Hungaroring appeared to be the venue where he could complete a summer hat‑trick of wins and pole positions. In the first Q3 run, Hamilton edged Norris by a tenth of a second, putting him on provisional pole. However, the decision to send him out first for the final flying lap proved costly.
Changing track conditions and a mistake at the first corner prevented him from improving his time. Hamilton later admitted that his last lap was the worst of the session, despite earlier laps being strong. He expressed frustration, noting that the car had the potential for pole but failed to deliver when it mattered most.
While other drivers also struggled to better their initial times, Norris was the only one who managed to find the extra hundredths needed to claim the top spot. Complicating matters, Hamilton was unaware that Piastri was about to start his own flying lap behind him. He was caught slowing at the first corner as the Australian approached, leading to the impeding penalty.
Team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed that the fault lay with the team’s procedural error rather than Hamilton himself. As a result, Hamilton will start from fifth instead of the front row, diminishing his chances of a race win and reducing his ability to chip away at Antonelli’s 45‑point championship lead. Nonetheless, Antonelli’s own penalty for the yellow‑flag breach offers Hamilton a sliver of hope to limit the Italian’s advantage before the summer break. The weekend’s schedule includes a range of support races: 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 Hungarian Grand Prix build‑up from 12:30 pm and the main race at 2:00 pm on Sunday.
All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract.