Formula 1’s last round before the four-week summer break took place this weekend at the Hungaroring, located just outside Budapest, and it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who occupied the top step on the podium for the first time this season after a highly entertaining Hungarian Grand Prix.

Two key issues dominated paddock discussions ahead of the start of ontrack action on Friday. Firstly, why is Mercedes’ George Russell struggling to match the pace of his teenage teammate, Kimi Antonelli? The answer is slightly car-related from a technical standpoint, but it is primarily down to the different driving styles of the duo. Secondly, would Aston Martin’s newly upgraded AMR26 car be able to produce better results after a truly abysmal start to the current campaign? I’ll turn to both these subjects in my News And Events From F1 – Hungarian Grand Prix feature, which will follow this race report.

Turning to the Hungaroring itself, its facilities have of late been much improved since I first visited back in 2002, and the circuit is essentially a fairly tight and twisty go-kart-type track, which, however, is still suitable for F1 machinery, if in a very different way to the likes of Silverstone and Spa. In Friday’s opening free practice session Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, but the action was interrupted after Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin suffered rear suspension failure at the exit of Turn 2. Later the same afternoon Alpine’s Franco Colapinto crashed at the final corner, causing further red flags, and, come the end of the restarted session, the Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc topped the timing screens. There were then further reds in Saturday’s final practice after Sergio Pérez’s smoking Cadillac ground to a halt at Turn 2, and ultimately it was Norris who this time went fastest in his upgraded McLaren.

The crucial three-part qualifying hour to set the grid for the Grand Prix followed, and it proved to be Norris who edged pole position from Hamilton, with Leclerc and Antonelli due to line up on the second row. Russell was seventh fastest, three places behind his teammate, and, after running over the kerbs at Turn 4, the related vibrations caused a water leak in his engine, meaning it needed to be replaced before the Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso was the quicker Aston Martin driver but was still only 16th, 2.6 seconds off Norris’ pole time.

However, Hamilton was summoned to see the stewards after the qualifying session for having impeded McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 in Q3 when the slowing British seven-time champion blocked the Australian, who was starting a hot lap. As a result, Hamilton was given a three-place grid penalty. Also, Antonelli was given the same penalty after the stewards deemed he had slowed insufficiently under single yellow flags after Verstappen had spun at the final corner.

A little tyre whispering earned Max Verstappen second place

The Grand Prix began at 3pm local time in front of packed grandstands and a record attendance, and by Turn 2 a charging Piastri had swept past his teammate into the lead. In contrast, Russell suffered anti-stall issues at the start and quickly dropped to last position, leaving him to spend his afternoon pursuing a recovery drive, which was to see him finish seventh. Meanwhile, out front all was looking rosy for the McLaren duo, and by the time all the leading runners had made their first pit stops, Piastri led from Norris, Verstappen and Hamilton.

By lap 40, well into the second pitstops phase of the Grand Prix, Norris rejoined in the lead, Piastri’s cause having been clumsily interrupted by contact from Williams’ Carlos Sainz, which rightly earned the Spaniard a five-second penalty. As the race progressed, Norris still led ahead of Piastri, Hamilton and Verstappen, but suddenly on lap 56 of 70 Piastri was forced to park his car trackside with a broken gearbox, triggering a short Virtual Safety Car period. Norris and the two Ferraris quickly made cheap pitstops for fresh rubber, but Red Bull kept Verstappen out on his existing soft tyres, hoping he could make them last to the end.

This left a flying Norris ahead of Verstappen, Antonelli and Hamilton, but then there was further drama as Hamilton received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and this dropped him to fifth behind Leclerc. Norris, Verstappen and Antonelli enjoyed the post-race podium celebrations, with Leclerc, Hamilton and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar completing the leading sextet at the chequered flag. Further down the order, it was clear that Aston Martin had made some progress under race conditions, with Lance Stroll finishing 13th, one place ahead of Alonso. This all left Antonelli extending his Drivers’ Championship lead, as his Mercedes team comfortably remained ahead on the Constructors’ front.

The sport’s now customary summer break will enable all personnel, both travelling and factory-based, to enjoy typically a couple of weeks’ downtime before the second half of the season begins at Zandvoort in the Netherlands with a Saturday Sprint event followed by the Dutch Grand Prix a day later on the 23rd August. Antonelli, who will only turn 20 two days later, entered the summer break still leading the Drivers’ Championship rankings ahead of so many far more experienced rivals, and it will be fascinating to see if he can continue his amazing trajectory towards a potential first Formula 1 world title in only his second season in the sport.



2026 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix
1 Lando Norris (McLaren) 1hr39m56.180s
2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +15.080s
3 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +18.728s
4 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +23.840s
5 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +24.540s
6 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +55.488s
7 George Russell (Mercedes) +57.503s
8 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) Lapped
9 Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) Lapped
10 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) Lapped
11 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) Lapped
12 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Lapped
13 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Lapped
14 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) Lapped
15 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Lapped
16 Esteban Ocon (Haas) Lapped
17 Alex Albon (Williams) Lapped
18 Carlos Sainz (Williams) Lapped
19 Oliver Bearman (Haas) Lapped
20 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) Retired
21 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) Retired
22 Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) Retired



2026 Drivers’ Championship
1 Kimi Antonelli 219
2 Lewis Hamilton 169
3 George Russell 160

2026 Constructors’ Championship
1 Mercedes 379
2 Ferrari 307
3 McLaren 220