Norris Leads Hungarian Grand Prix, Piastri Retires Due to Failure
Lando Norris controls the race at the Hungaroring and charges towards his first win of the 2026 season, while his teammate Oscar Piastri was forced to retire due to a gearbox failure.
Lando Norris controls the race at the Hungaroring and charges towards his first win of the 2026 season, while his teammate Oscar Piastri was forced to retire due to a gearbox failure.
McLaren's Lando Norris leads the Hungarian Grand Prix, the 11th race of the Formula 1 season, at the Hungaroring. The British driver, who claimed his first pole position of the season in qualifying, leads Max Verstappen by 6.381 seconds after 61 of 70 laps, with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli third at +12.659 seconds.
The race brought excitement right from the start, when Oscar Piastri made an excellent getaway and moved into the lead. Piastri controlled the race for a long time, with Norris chasing him for over ten laps with a gap of less than a second, but the Hungarian track is renowned for its limited overtaking opportunities. The key moment for McLaren came on lap 40 when Norris, after a pit stop, emerged ahead of Piastri. Piastri was hindered at a critical moment by lapped drivers he was overtaking, and contact with Sainz cost him valuable time.
Drama escalated on lap 57 when Piastri, who had led a large portion of the race, was forced to retire due to a gearbox failure. He parked his car at the side of the track, triggering a virtual safety car. Norris used the VSC to pit and retained the lead, while Hamilton, who was then in third place, dropped down after his pit stop. On lap 58, Hamilton had to hand back the position to Antonelli because the stewards determined he had passed him incorrectly during the VSC, given that Antonelli was ahead at the time of Hamilton's pit exit.
The starting grid was affected by penalties handed out after qualifying. Norris was fastest in qualifying, and Lewis Hamilton initially secured second place but was penalized with a three-place grid drop for impeding Oscar Piastri. Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, originally qualified fourth but was also moved back three places because, according to the stewards' decision, he did not slow down enough under yellow flags displayed after Max Verstappen spun in the final corner. Due to these penalties, Antonelli started the race from seventh position.
After 61 of 70 laps, the order is as follows: Norris leads, followed by Verstappen (+6.381s), Antonelli (+12.659s), Hamilton (+14.346s), and Leclerc (+20.520s). Hadjar is sixth, Russell seventh, and Lindblad eighth. Lawson and Hulkenberg are a lap down, while Piastri, Perez, and Bottas are not classified.
Kimi Antonelli firmly leads the drivers' standings with 204 points, having won six races this season. Mercedes drivers have triumphed in eight of ten races leading into this weekend. Hamilton is second with 159 points, Russell third with 154, and Leclerc fourth with 126. Norris is fifth with 103 points, and this race offers him a chance to close in on the top. In the constructors' standings, Mercedes dominates with 358 points, ahead of Ferrari (285) and McLaren (195).
