One of many closest qualifying periods the F1 season has seen meant that the stage was set for an amazing race, with McLaren’s Lando Norris ranging from pole place having stitched up a powerful closing lap in Q3.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who was second on the grid, was slapped with a three-place grid penalty after impeding Oscar Piastri, whereas Mercedes champion Kimi Antonelli additionally misplaced three locations for not slowing down sufficient with the yellow flag.
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These penalties introduced out a number of drivers and arrange a captivating lineup previous to Sunday’s race with Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Purple Bull all anticipated to come back into rivalry for the win.
Lando Norris of Nice Britain and McLaren throughout qualifying forward of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring.(Picture by Sam Bloxham/LAT Pictures)
Friday and Saturday have been additionally indicators of every part that may occur through the race. All through the weekend, the front-runners have been evenly matched as Charles Leclerc led FP1, Lewis Hamilton was on prime in FP2, and Norris was quickest in FP3.
In the meantime, Max Verstappen was ready to benefit from Purple Bull’s tempo on a monitor the place corners do not present many alternatives, and George Russell hoped to bounce again from his sixth-place begin.
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Lando Norris received the Hungarian GP after Piastri’s DNF and a penalty for Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli secured P2 and P3 respectively.
Hungarian GP: Full End Order
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Purple Bull)
3. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
6. Isack Hadjar (Purple Bull)
7. George Russell (Mercedes)
8. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
9. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
10. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
15. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
17. Alex Albon (Williams)
19. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
20. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – DNF
21. Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) – DNF
22. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) – DNF
Greatest Takeaways From Budapest
Norris held him up for the whole race and made a high-quality efficiency with the puck to complete with a robust rating, which noticed him flip McLaren’s tempo into an important win. The result supplies the Brit with a lift at first of the rest of the season.
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Regardless of not holding the outright tempo to problem Norris over a full race distance, Verstappen took full benefit of Purple Bull’s bundle. Antonelli’s podium was additionally spectacular, recovering from his grid penalty to minimise the injury within the Drivers’ Championship.
The afternoon was a combined bag for Ferrari. Second-placed Charles Leclerc battled for the rostrum earlier than settling for fourth, whereas Hamilton was demoralised to take his fifth on the tempo after a penalty for rushing within the pit lane.
But it surely wasn’t a whole day for McLaren, who needed to see Oscar Piastri DNF due to a gearbox subject.
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The championship battle is way from over as Formulation 1 enters the summer time break with Antonelli on the prime, being chased by Hamilton.
This story was initially printed by Athlon Sports activities on Jul 26, 2026, the place it first appeared within the Racing part. Add Athlon Sports activities as a Most well-liked Supply by clicking right here.
