BUDAPEST : Formula One world champion Lando Norris claimed McLaren’s first victory of the 2026 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli finished third to extend his championship lead despite starting seventh on the grid.
Norris converted pole position into his 12th career victory and second successive win in Hungary, finishing 15.080 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after teammate Oscar Piastri retired with a gearbox failure 14 laps from the finish while running second.
The Australian’s retirement denied McLaren a likely one-two finish.
“My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had,” Norris said. “The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident, so a great race.
“I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again.”
Antonelli recovered from a three-place grid penalty to secure the final podium spot and increase his championship advantage to 50 points over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton heading into the August break.
Hamilton crossed the line fourth but was demoted to fifth after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his third stop under Virtual Safety Car conditions, promoting teammate Charles Leclerc to fourth.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar finished sixth, while Mercedes’ George Russell recovered from a poor start that dropped him to 19th to finish seventh. Russell remained third in the standings, 59 points behind teammate Antonelli.
Piastri’s race unraveled after contact with backmarker Carlos Sainz’s Williams while lapping the Spaniard cost him valuable time, allowing Norris to pit later and retain the lead.
“Obviously getting taken out by a backmarker is never really one of the things you think can go wrong. But I was proven wrong. Then obviously the gearbox, so not the easiest of days,” Piastri said.
The Australian’s retirement triggered a Virtual Safety Car, prompting Norris and both Ferrari drivers to pit while Verstappen and Antonelli stayed out, a strategy that proved decisive.
Hamilton’s stop ultimately proved costly after he exceeded the pit lane speed limit by 0.1 kph, earning his second penalty of the weekend following a three-place grid drop for impeding Piastri in qualifying.
“I didn’t expect to be on the podium today. But we worked hard for it,” Verstappen said after finishing second.
“I saw the opportunity. It was my only one. I just went for it. We’re good on the brakes, so that helped, but it was all under control.”
Antonelli said strategy had been key to salvaging a strong result after his grid penalty.
“It was really hard to overtake so we had to do something with strategy,” the Italian said. “Initially we tried to go for the one-stop but then they told me the tyre was too much on the limit, so we stopped.
“With the Virtual Safety Car the two Ferraris boxed. I knew it would be very hard because I was on hards, they were on softs, but luckily we were able to keep them behind.”
