Norris claims first Grand Prix win of 2026 season

By Aditya Rao — 26 July 2026 — 5 min read

Norris claims first Grand Prix win of 2026 season

Lando Norris secured his and McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory of 2026 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He finished ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. The race featured mid-race drama and a late retirement for Norris’s teammate, Oscar Piastri.

Norris, who started from pole position, spent the initial part of the race behind Piastri. Piastri had overtaken Norris at Turn 2 on the opening lap. McLaren resisted Norris’s requests to be allowed through during this period.

The internal team battle shifted after the halfway point when Piastri, following his second pit stop, encountered traffic. He made contact with a Williams car. This incident, combined with Norris’s pace in clear air before his own second stop, influenced the race outcome.

Piastri later retired from the race due to an apparent gearbox problem. His stoppage triggered a Virtual Safety Car (VSC), leading to more activity in the pit lane.

Podium battle and penalties

Verstappen and Antonelli, who had just changed tyres, remained on track to secure second and third positions, respectively. They finished ahead of Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who both made three pit stops.

Hamilton initially emerged from his final stop ahead of Antonelli. However, replays indicated he had reached the VSC white line at the end of the start/finish straight just behind the Mercedes. A five-second penalty for speeding in the pits further impacted Hamilton’s race, preventing a podium finish. Leclerc moved ahead of Hamilton for fourth place after the penalty was applied.

Isack Hadjar secured sixth place for Red Bull, while George Russell finished seventh despite a difficult start that saw him drop to 21st due to the anti-stall system engaging.

Racing Bulls achieved a double points finish with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, who placed eighth and 10th. They were positioned around Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, whose teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto, finished 11th.

Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, with their updated cars, finished 13th and 14th. They separated the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, and finished ahead of both Haas and Williams cars.

Qualifying and race start details

Norris had secured pole position by a narrow margin of 0.012 seconds over Hamilton during an ultra-close qualifying session at the Hungaroring circuit. Leclerc qualified third, and championship leader Antonelli was fourth.

However, both Hamilton and Antonelli received three-place grid penalties from the stewards. Hamilton was penalised for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags, and Leclerc was penalised for impeding Piastri. This meant Norris started from pole, followed by Leclerc, Piastri, and Verstappen. Hamilton was demoted to fifth, and Antonelli to seventh. Sergio Perez moved from the back of the grid to the pit lane after making set-up changes.

At the start of the formation lap, it was revealed that Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen opted for medium starting tyres. Leclerc and Hamilton chose soft tyres, hoping to gain an advantage on the long run to Turn 1. Bortoleto, Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Stroll also started on soft tyres, while the rest of the field used mediums.

Norris made a clean start from pole position, maintaining his lead. Piastri overtook Leclerc to follow Norris into the first corner. Verstappen battled wheel-to-wheel with the two Ferraris. Piastri then surged into the lead at Turn 2 with a cut-back move. Hamilton also passed his teammate Leclerc for fourth and appeared to make contact with Verstappen.

Russell experienced a difficult start, dropping from seventh to 21st. His engineer confirmed that the anti-stall system was the cause. As the race progressed, Piastri held a lead of just over a second from Norris, followed by Verstappen, Hamilton, and Leclerc. Antonelli was in sixth, having gained a position due to Russell’s start, with Hadjar, Lawson, Lindblad, and Hulkenberg completing the top 10.

Verstappen communicated issues with the car over the radio, mentioning that the damping had failed and requesting adjustments to the shifts. Hamilton continued to pursue Verstappen but could not find a way past. McLaren also communicated with their drivers, with Piastri stating his tyres felt good and Norris expressing he was “miles faster” but affected by dirty air.

By Lap 13, Russell had climbed to 11th, passing several drivers. Stroll, an early stopper, was battling with the Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Perez. Hamilton made the first front-running pit stop on Lap 14, changing to hard tyres. He rejoined in ninth and quickly overtook Lindblad. Verstappen responded on Lap 15, also switching to hard tyres, and then surprised Hamilton with a pass into Turn 1 at the start of the next lap.

Piastri and Leclerc pitted on Lap 17, followed by Norris on the subsequent lap, which allowed Antonelli and Hadjar to lead temporarily. Piastri narrowly maintained his advantage over Norris after his pit stop. Antonelli continued for a few more laps before pitting for hards on Lap 22, indicating a two-stop strategy. Piastri then reclaimed the lead but faced pressure from Norris. Verstappen fell to third, followed by Hamilton, Leclerc, and Antonelli. Russell climbed to seventh before pitting on Lap 28.

Bottas was the first retirement of the day, reporting smoke in the cockpit, with overheating brakes suspected as the cause. Hamilton made his second stop on Lap 30 for another set of hard tyres. Piastri was instructed to use his pace in response to Hamilton’s stop, to which he replied, “I don’t really have any.” Norris, who had a wide moment at Turn 4, urged McLaren to let him pass Piastri. On Lap 33, Piastri pitted for hard tyres, giving Norris clear air. Piastri was left to watch the final 15 laps from the sidelines following his retirement, while the Cadillacs of Bottas and Perez also did not finish the race.

Antonelli extended his championship lead to 50 points over Hamilton and over his Mercedes teammate Russell, who finished seventh.

Source: formula1.com