McLaren’s Briton beats Hamilton by just 0.012s in Hungaroring grid decider. Gabriel Bortoleto advances to Q2 but finishes 14th, while Hülkenberg puts Audi in Q3.
Read more F1: Bortoleto has a troubled qualifying and starts in 14th in the Hungarian GP
Lando Norris secured pole position for the Hungarian GP, the 11th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season. In an extremely close qualifying session held this Saturday (25th), the McLaren driver clocked 1min17s207, beating Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012s. Charles Leclerc secured third place, followed by Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri, while Max Verstappen finished sixth. George Russell, Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad, and Nico Hülkenberg completed the top 10. Gabriel Bortoleto advanced to Q2 but was eliminated in the second phase of qualifying and will start from 14th position.
The Qualifying Session
The grid decider for the Hungarian GP began with high expectations after the close competition seen throughout the weekend. Ferrari dominated Friday, McLaren responded by leading the third free practice session, and Mercedes consistently remained among the front-runners, indicating an open battle for pole position at Hungaroring.
For Gabriel Bortoleto, qualifying also represented an important moment. The Brazilian had not found the expected performance during free practice, especially compared to Nico Hülkenberg, although he arrived confident that the decisive session could change the scenario. After all, Hungaroring brought back good memories: a year earlier, he had secured seventh position on the grid.
With the green light for Q1, Bottas, Sainz, and Albon were the first to leave the pits, followed shortly by the Aston Martin duo. Fernando Alonso opened proceedings among the drivers who set a flying lap, provisionally taking the lead with 1min20s665.
The activity quickly increased. The Ferraris stood out as the only top teams to start the session using medium tires, while virtually the rest of the grid opted for soft compounds to secure a comfortable spot in Q2.
Ferrari’s strategy showed that the team had full confidence in the performance of the SF-26. Lewis Hamilton was the first to prove this by clocking 1min18s730 and taking the session lead even using a theoretically slower compound. Charles Leclerc appeared right behind with 1min18s878, but his lap was deleted by the stewards for exceeding track limits at Turn 3, forcing the Monegasque to attempt another lap.
Meanwhile, the other favorites began to appear on the leaderboard. Andrea Kimi Antonelli initially set a slow preparation lap but soon returned to the track at a much faster pace and jumped to second place with 1min18s726. Isack Hadjar confirmed the good performance seen throughout the weekend by momentarily taking third place with 1min18s754.
At Audi, Gabriel Bortoleto was one of the last drivers to leave the pits. On his first fast lap, the Brazilian clocked 1min19s476 and provisionally appeared among the top ten. Nico Hülkenberg practically replicated his teammate’s time, recording 1min19s470, making it clear how balanced the two cars were at that point in qualifying.
Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Arvid Lindblad, and Liam Lawson also secured sufficient laps to provisionally stay out of the elimination zone, while Oscar Piastri found good pace and moved up to fifth position. George Russell did the same shortly after, placing the second Mercedes also among the top five.
It was Lando Norris who changed the Q1 scenario again. The McLaren driver confirmed the excellent pace shown in FP3 and took the lead by clocking 1min18s277, setting the fastest lap of the session until then.
Shortly after, Gabriel Bortoleto had his first attempt disallowed by the stewards for exceeding track limits at Turn 4. The deleted lap forced the Brazilian to immediately return for a new attempt, increasing the pressure on the Audi driver in the final stretch of Q1, when the battle for Q2 spots began to get tighter and tighter.
After the first attempts, virtually the entire grid returned to the pits to put on a new set of soft tires and prepare for the decisive lap. At that moment, Bortoleto appeared in the elimination zone alongside Bearman, Albon, Sainz, Bottas, and Pérez, with no room for error.
Aston Martin showed signs of improvement. Fernando Alonso managed to find a better lap and moved up to 12th position, momentarily escaping the danger zone.
At the front, Antonelli improved again to take second place with 1min18s554, while Russell put the other Mercedes in sixth. Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon also improved but remained under threat.
All attention, however, was on Bortoleto. Pressured after losing his first fast lap, the Brazilian responded precisely when he needed it most. With an excellent run of 1min19s069, he jumped from last position to ninth place, moving out of the elimination zone and putting Audi back among the qualifiers.
The reaction from his rivals, however, was immediate. Bearman improved his time, while Hülkenberg delivered one of the best laps of the session, clocking 1min18s796 and jumping to sixth place, surpassing Russell and opening almost three tenths over Bortoleto.
In the final seconds, Fernando Alonso secured his spot at the last opportunity, Pierre Gasly also escaped elimination, and Franco Colapinto improved to eliminate Bearman.
With the checkered flag, the eliminated drivers from Q1 were Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas, and Sergio Pérez. Alonso advanced “by the skin of his teeth.” Norris finished at the top of the session, followed by Max Verstappen and Antonelli, who still lost his last lap due to track limits at Turn 14 but maintained third position. Bortoleto advanced in tenth, while Hülkenberg was sixth.
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After a brief interval, Q2 began with Alonso being the only driver to leave the pits immediately, using used tires. Shortly after, the rest of the pack went out onto the track.
Verstappen set the first benchmark with 1min18s249, but Antonelli immediately responded to take the provisional lead with 1min18s178. Norris appeared in second, and Lindblad surprised by taking third place.
The session changed completely when Hadjar went off track at Turn 12, touched the gravel, and spun, causing a yellow flag. Russell had his lap deleted for passing through the area under a double yellow flag, and Bortoleto also completely lost his attempt as he had to slow down in that section.
Hamilton took advantage of a clear lap to take the lead with 1min17s931, while Russell still managed to clock 1min18s645 to appear in fourth. Simultaneously, race control noted an incident involving Leclerc for a possible infringement during the yellow flag period, which was later dismissed.
With no time to waste, Bortoleto returned to the pits and focused his entire qualifying on a single attempt. At the end of the session, Hadjar gave the first response by provisionally taking the lead with 1min17s872.
The Brazilian clocked 1min19s105 and even moved up to ninth, provisionally entering the qualification zone. His stay, however, was short-lived. Piastri advanced to second, Norris reclaimed the lead with 1min17s456, Hülkenberg secured qualification by moving up to seventh, Lindblad went to sixth, and Lawson also entered the top ten.
Gasly, Ocon, and Colapinto improved but remained eliminated. Leclerc jumped to second with 1min17s626, and Hamilton closed the session in third, clocking 1min17s803.
Thus, Lawson, Gasly, Colapinto, Bortoleto, Ocon, and Alonso were eliminated. Hülkenberg confirmed the tenth spot in Q3, approximately half a second faster than his teammate. Norris led Q2, followed by Leclerc and Hamilton, while Hadjar surprised in fourth. Verstappen finished sixth, Antonelli eighth, and Russell ninth.
In the battle for pole, the teams waited a few moments before leaving the pits. Hülkenberg and Hadjar opted for used soft tires on their first attempt, while the others used new compounds.
Verstappen opened the sequence with 1min17s725, but was quickly surpassed by Piastri, Norris, and finally, Hamilton, who clocked 1min17s219 to take the provisional lead. Leclerc put the other Ferrari in third with 1min17s445, while Antonelli appeared in fourth.
After the first attempt, everyone returned to the pits to put on a final set of tires and decide pole.
On the final lap, Hamilton failed to improve in the first sector and eventually backed off. Leclerc also did not improve. Antonelli lowered his time but remained in fourth. Verstappen lost control of the car at Turn 14, spun at the last corner, and lost any chance of improving his time.
The decision came down to Norris and Hamilton. When the McLaren Briton crossed the finish line, he confirmed pole position by just 0.012s over the Ferrari driver, one of the smallest differences of the season.
Hamilton secured second position, while Leclerc completed the top 3. Antonelli finished fourth, followed by Piastri and Verstappen. Russell and Hadjar will share the fourth row, while Lindblad and Hülkenberg completed the top ten.
After the checkered flag, Russell still caused a scare by stopping at the braking zone of Turn 1, with his Mercedes seemingly shutting down shortly after the session ended.
Gabriel Bortoleto concluded his participation in Q2 and will start from 14th position this Sunday. The Brazilian showed resilience by overcoming pressure in Q1 after losing a lap due to track limits, but ultimately lacked sufficient pace to match the evolution of his rivals in the second phase of qualifying, while Hülkenberg put Audi in Q3 and secured tenth position on the grid.
Check the starting grid for the 2026 Hungarian GP:
1) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’17.207
2) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 1’17.219
3) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1’17.445
4) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1’17.479
5) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’17.684
6) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’17.725
7) George Russell (Mercedes), 1’17.760
8) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’17.856
9) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’18.281
10) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), 1’18.686
11) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’18.765
12) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’18.844
13) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’19.027
14) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), 1’19.105
15) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari), 1’19.734
16) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’19.808
17) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari), 1’20.233
18) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes), 1’20.621
19) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes), 1’20.658
20) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’20.659
21) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’20.886
22) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’21.322
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