Lando Norris achieved a dominant victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, marking his and McLaren's first win of the 2026 season. Starting from pole position, Norris controlled the race at the Hungaroring circuit.
Team-mate Oscar Piastri briefly took the lead at the start but later retired due to a gearbox failure. Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished in second place, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli securing the final podium spot in third.
Lewis Hamilton incurred a three-place grid penalty prior to the race for impeding Piastri in qualifying. He then received a further five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him from fourth to fifth at the checkered flag.
Driver Performances
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Harry Benjamin rated Norris's performance as a near-perfect weekend, highlighting his pace and controlled run to victory, despite a momentary loss of the lead on lap one. Verstappen was commended for extracting a strong result from a challenging Red Bull car, battling issues throughout the weekend to secure second place. Antonelli delivered a strong damage-limitation drive, recovering from seventh to the podium after a qualifying penalty for failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags.
Charles Leclerc finished fifth on the road, promoted to fourth after Hamilton's penalty, but was unable to convert Ferrari's promising pace from Friday into a podium. He lost positions at the start to Piastri and Hamilton. Hamilton, despite being the fastest Ferrari driver over the weekend, saw his potential podium finish reduced to fifth due to the two penalties.
Isack Hadjar brought home sixth place for Red Bull, demonstrating resilience on a difficult day for the team. George Russell recovered impressively from an anti-stall issue at the start that dropped him to 21st, fighting back to seventh for Mercedes. Liam Lawson finished eighth, improving on his qualifying performance with a strong race, while Nico Hulkenberg earned points in ninth after reaching Q3 and maintaining a position in the midfield battle. Rookie Arvid Lindblad claimed the final point in tenth, successfully executing a one-stop strategy despite qualifying challenges.