British driver recovers lead after incident with Piastri and wins at Hungaroring. Verstappen finishes second, Leclerc inherits third place after Hamilton’s penalty, and Gabriel Bortoleto finishes the race in 11th.
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Lando Norris secured his first victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season this Sunday (26) by winning the Hungarian GP, the 11th round of the championship. The McLaren driver crossed the finish line with a significant lead over Max Verstappen after a busy race, marked by different strategies, penalties, race control interventions, and the retirement of Oscar Piastri, who led for much of the race. Charles Leclerc inherited third place after Lewis Hamilton received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, while Gabriel Bortoleto finished 11th, very close to the points zone.
Race
After an exciting qualifying session on Saturday, the expectation was for an open race at the Hungaroring. Lando Norris started from pole position after beating Lewis Hamilton by just 12 thousandths of a second, but the front row underwent changes even before the start. Hamilton lost three grid positions for impeding Oscar Piastri during qualifying, while Kimi Antonelli, fourth fastest in Q3, was also penalized for not sufficiently reducing speed during a yellow flag caused by Max Verstappen’s spin. Thus, Norris lined up alongside Charles Leclerc on the front row, with Piastri and Verstappen forming the second.
Another important factor was tire strategy. Most of the grid opted for medium compounds for the first part of the race, while Ferrari bet on softs for Hamilton and Leclerc. Gabriel Bortoleto also started the race on soft tires, as did Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Lance Stroll, looking to gain positions early in the laps. The Brazilian started only from 14th position, a result below expectations after failing to repeat his qualifying performance in Q2, while Nico Hülkenberg placed the other Audi in the top 10.
The start immediately changed the race landscape. Even starting from third position, Oscar Piastri had an excellent reaction and dived past Lando Norris in the first corners to take the lead on the very first lap, putting McLaren in a one-two early in the race. Behind them, Charles Leclerc dropped to fifth, while Lewis Hamilton took advantage of the good performance of the soft tires to move up to fourth place.
George Russell also faced difficulties. The Mercedes driver reported over the radio that his car entered anti-stall at the start, dropping him to the back of the pack and beginning a long recovery race.
Gabriel Bortoleto also didn’t have a perfect start, but managed to minimize the damage. Despite losing momentum in the first few meters, he quickly recovered and even gained a position, starting to pressure Esteban Ocon in the following laps.
Hamilton spent much of the first stint trying to overtake Verstappen. On several occasions, he tried to attack on the outside at Turn 3, but the Dutchman defended his position precisely, leaving no room for the Ferrari driver.
Meanwhile, Russell began his recovery, overtaking Bottas, Albon, Sainz, Bearman, Colapinto, Ocon, and Gasly. Bortoleto, on the other hand, took a while to overtake Ocon and ended up being passed by the Briton before finally managing to pass the Frenchman and regain 13th place.
Up front, Piastri controlled his lead over Norris, but the Briton gradually reduced the gap. McLaren opened up about a three-second lead over Verstappen, consolidating a one-two in the early laps.
The first pit-stop window began on lap 14. Hamilton was one of the first leaders to stop in an attempt to execute an undercut on Verstappen. Red Bull responded immediately, but the Dutchman managed to regain the position right after exiting the pits with a brilliant overtake.
Shortly after, Valtteri Bottas had to retire from the race due to a brake fire on his Cadillac, causing a yellow flag in the pit lane just as Oscar Piastri was preparing to pit. The Australian had to abort his stop and only managed to change tires on the following lap, still remaining ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton.
The sequence of pit stops reorganized the battle among the leaders. Norris began to consistently run within Piastri’s DRS zone, while Hamilton remained close to Verstappen. Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto opted to significantly extend his first stint on soft tires. Even using heavily worn compounds, the Brazilian recorded competitive lap times and was at one point the second fastest driver on track, justifying Audi’s strategy.
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On lap 30, Bortoleto finally made his only stop, putting on hard tires to go until the end of the race. The Brazilian returned determined to chase the points zone.
Tension also mounted within McLaren. Convinced he had superior pace, Norris requested over the radio that the team swap positions, stating he would open up a ten-second lead if he took the lead. The team, however, kept Piastri ahead and relied on strategy to decide the race.
When Piastri made his second stop, Norris remained on track, and at that moment, projections indicated he would return ahead of his teammate. However, the scenario completely changed because of Carlos Sainz. During a backmarker lap, the Williams driver closed the door on Piastri at Turn 2, causing a touch that forced the Australian off onto the grass. The time lost was enough for Norris to take the lead when he made his stop.
Piastri was extremely annoyed over the radio, while McLaren acknowledged that the incident had cost the Australian the lead. Shortly after, Sainz received a five-second penalty for causing the collision.
From then on, Norris definitively took control of the race. He still had to overtake Kimi Antonelli, who remained ahead due to strategy, diving inside the Mercedes to regain the effective lead of the race.
Gabriel Bortoleto continued to build a solid race. After overtaking Pierre Gasly, the Brazilian provisionally entered the points zone during the sequence of pit stops, maintaining a competitive pace on hard tires and getting closer and closer to Arvid Lindblad.
When it seemed the battle was heading for a calm finish, Oscar Piastri retired on lap 56 with gearbox problems, causing a Virtual Safety Car that once again shuffled the leaders’ strategies. Norris, Hamilton, and Leclerc took the opportunity to make a final stop, while Verstappen and Antonelli remained on track.
During the neutralization, Hamilton briefly appeared ahead of Antonelli on pit exit, but returned the position after the restart. Later, Ferrari received another blow when the Briton was penalized with five seconds for speeding in the pit lane.
In the final laps, Bortoleto once again dreamed of points. Benefiting from the wear of his competitors, he quickly closed in on Lindblad and definitively reached the rear of the Racing Bulls with three laps to go. Audi released maximum hybrid energy for the overtaking attempt, but the Brazilian found no space to complete the maneuver. In his persistence, he also received a black and white flag for exceeding track limits.
Hamilton also experienced a dramatic end to the race. Needing to overtake Antonelli and open a five-second gap over Leclerc to neutralize his penalty, he intensely pressured the Mercedes driver but lost contact in the final laps and could not build the necessary advantage.
Without further scares, Norris comfortably managed the lead until he received the checkered flag and secured his first victory of the 2026 season, also his first using the number 1 as reigning world champion. Verstappen finished second, while Hamilton crossed the line in third but dropped to fourth after the penalty was applied. Leclerc inherited the final podium spot, followed by Antonelli and Hadjar. Russell was seventh, Lawson finished eighth, Hülkenberg was ninth, and Lindblad secured the last available point. Gabriel Bortoleto crossed the finish line in 11th, very close to the points zone after a consistent race and a one-stop strategy that almost earned him another top 10.
Check out the full results of the 2026 Hungarian GP:
1) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes)
2) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford)
3) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
6) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford)
7) George Russell (Mercedes)
8) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford)
9) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
10) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford)
11) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
12) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes)
13) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda)
14) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda)
15) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes)
16) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari)
17) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes)
18) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes)
19) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari)
OUT) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes)
OUT) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari)
OUT) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari)
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