McLaren driver Lando Norris scored his first win as reigning world champion with an impressive drive in the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix that sends him into the summer break on a high.
The 2025 world champion started on pole, but lost the lead to hard-charging teammate Oscar Piastri, who jumped from third to the front after Norris made a mistake and went wide in Turn 3. From there, Norris played the waiting game and finally gained the upper hand when Piastri made his second stop at the halfway point.
“I don’t know what happened [off the start] – I just kept losing the rear – I had like three or four big snaps, it felt horrible and of course Oscar did a good job to get past, so it was game over on the first lap,” said Norris. “But man I was pushing like hell to try to force him into a mistake or something. To get it back in terms of going long, which certainly was not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good I could always extend the stints and fresh times won me the race. I’m just happy to be back [on the top step of the podium].”
Piastri tried to mount a challenge after his second pit stop but got caught up with backmarkers and ended up getting hit and pushed off the circuit at Turn 3 while trying to lap the Williams of Carlos Sainz. He never recovered from the contact and then retired with a gearbox problem with 14 laps to go.
The Australian’s reaction to the incident said it all: “Get out of the [expletive] way you idiot.”
Norris crossed the line 15.080 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes another 3.648 seconds back. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth, with teammate Lewis Hamilton fifth after a five-second penalty for pitlane speeding.
For his part, Verstappen scored his fourth podium of 2026 in a race where he didn’t expect to be a contender after qualifying sixth but starting fourth due to grid penalties to Hamilton and Antonelli.
“I didn’t expect to be on the podium today but we worked hard for it – very happy to be second here,” he said. “The start was decent and then, after the first stop, to get back ahead of Lewis under braking into Turn 1 and then just trying to survive on the compounds and make the right calls on the strategy.”
Verstappen undersold his pass on the seven-time world champion after he made a jaw-dropping double overtake from well back at Turn 1, getting by the Racing Bull of Liam Lawson just before the corner and then dive-bombing the Ferrari on the inside.
“I saw the opportunity – it was the only one – and I went for it,” said Verstappen. “I was good on the brakes so that helped but it was all under control.”
When the TV screen in the cool down room showed the pass to the top three, as they waited for the podium ceremony, Antonelli’s reaction to the move said it all: “Oh my god!”
The young Italian showed maturity to recover from his three-place grid penalty to take a podium from seventh on the grid, and crucially finished ahead of both his closest title rivals, Hamilton and teammate George Russell.
“Initially, we tried to go for the one stop but then they [the team] told me the cars was too much on the limit so we stopped and then we had the virtual safety car and two Ferrari boxed and I knew it would be very hard because I was on hard [tires] and they were on soft but luckily we managed to keep them behind,” he said. “I’m very happy and it’s the best way to go into the summer break. I think today was big damage limitation and we have to keep pushing because the second half is going to be hard but we will try our best.”
Antonelli goes into the summer break leading by two full grand prix wins with his 219 points, totaling 50 more than Hamilton’s 169. Russell lies third, with 160. Mercedes leads the constructors’ championship with 379 points, with Ferrari second at 307 and McLaren third on 220.
The day turned out to be a disappointing one for Russell, who saw his title hopes fade even further after his car’s anti-stall kicked in at the start and he fell from sixth on the grid to 20th at the first corner. He ended the day in seventh.
Meanwhile, the upgraded Aston Martin helped the team score its best starting position of the year, with Fernando Alonso putting the car 16th on the grid, and marking the first time the team made it to the second round of qualifying. In the end, Canadian Lance Stroll finished as the top Aston Martin in 13th, with Alonso one spot behind.
“I felt good in the car today, and it was nice to feel like we were racing again,” said Stroll. “We’re not where we want to be yet so there’s more work to do, but we’re in the mix now. It’s the most encouraging upgrade we’ve had in a long time and we’ve got more coming for [the next race in] Zandvoort, so it’s positive to see we’re moving in the right direction.”
After Hungary delivered his first win of the season, Norris also hopes that his upgraded car’s newfound speed continues when the series returns at the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23.
“Considering how good it felt today, I certainly want to believe that we can continue it,” said Norris. “We know this track is a good one for us – this is maybe as good as it can get for now but I believe we can still win races. The team has put so much work to make it a car that can finally win again and it’s nice to be able to do it for them.”
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