Lando Norris secured pole position for the Hungarian GP and was the main topic of discussion this Saturday in Formula 1. The McLaren driver beat Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012s, but penalties applied after qualifying changed the front rows of the grid at the Hungaroring.
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Hamilton had finished second, but lost three positions for impeding Oscar Piastri during a fast lap. Kimi Antonelli, initially fourth, received the same penalty for not sufficiently reducing speed under yellow flags in Q3. With these decisions, Charles Leclerc moved up to the front row alongside Norris, Piastri moved to third place, and Max Verstappen to fourth.
Gabriel Bortoleto advanced to Q2, but finished in 14th position. The Brazilian reacted in Q1 after having a lap deleted for exceeding track limits, but was hampered by a yellow flag on his first attempt in Q2 and couldn’t find the pace to keep up with the evolution of his rivals. Nico Hülkenberg put the other Audi in Q3 and secured tenth place.
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Saturday also brought difficulties for Mercedes and Red Bull. Antonelli will start only in seventh, while George Russell appears in sixth. Verstappen finished fourth after spinning in the last corner on his final attempt, and confirmed that Tom Hart will be Gianpiero Lambiase’s successor as his race engineer at Red Bull.
Outside the Hungaroring, the possibility of the Bahrain GP being exceptionally held in Sepang, Malaysia, on October 4, gained traction. The race would retain the name of Bahrain, which would finance the event, while Formula 1 would find an alternative to the difficulties caused by the crisis in the Middle East.
Read more F1: Bahrain GP could be held in Malaysia in 2026
