Norris takes Hungarian GP pole by 0.012s, Hamilton and Antonelli hit with grid penalties

Last-gasp pole position

Lando Norris claimed his first pole of the 2026 season with a final flying lap that edged Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012 seconds. Hamilton had looked set for a record-extending 105th career pole after topping the first Q3 runs by 0.101 seconds, but neither he nor Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc improved on their second attempts. Hamilton was a full second slower on his final lap, attributing the drop-off partly to Ferrari's decision to send both cars out first. "I don't know why we went first and that was a shock to me. I definitely wouldn't have chosen to do it that way," Hamilton said. Norris, running last of the leaders, threaded his McLaren through the final corner to snatch pole. Leclerc took third, 0.238 seconds off the pace.

I was confident I could do it. I knew I could go quite a bit better and the pace was there even though Ferrari have been insanely fast so far. But it is only qualifying and we need to repeat this result several times.

Yellow flag chaos and penalties

A late spin by Max Verstappen at the final corner triggered yellow flags that caught out the two Mercedes drivers. Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, and George Russell were forced to slow, leaving them fourth and seventh on the provisional grid. Antonelli was later handed a three-place grid drop for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags. Meanwhile, Hamilton was penalised three places for impeding Oscar Piastri on his cool-down lap, with Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur accepting blame for not warning the driver in time.

We told him but far too late. If there's a mistake, it's our mistake.

Piastri had been on a fast lap when Hamilton, unaware, held him up. "It was just Lewis, not looking in his mirrors," Piastri said. Hamilton admitted he was preoccupied after his lap, not realising anyone was behind him until Piastri was at the apex.

I thought everyone came out behind me. I was the first out, so I thought everyone had finished their lap... Obviously, it wasn't intentional.

The combined penalties reshuffled the grid. Norris and Leclerc will share the front row, while Piastri and Verstappen move up to the second row. Hamilton drops to fifth and Antonelli to seventh.

Title race at the summer break

Antonelli's lead over Hamilton stands at 45 points with Sunday's race the final round before the summer break. Hamilton still has a chance to claim a record-extending ninth win at the Hungaroring, a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult. Russell, already trailing by 50 points, faces another setback after stopping on track with yet another reliability failure following his last lap.

Alonso breaks Q1 drought

Fernando Alonso gave Aston Martin a lift by escaping Q1 for the first time this season with the team's substantially revised car. He will start 16th, 2.8 seconds off pole, but the team noted a two-second relative improvement in pace.