Norris goes back-to-back in Hungary for his first victory of the season

Lando Norris claimed his first victory of the 2026 season – his first as world champion – at the Hungaroring on Sunday 26 July, converting his pole position into victory after capitalising on teammate Oscar Piastri’s misfortune in a dramatic Hungarian Grand Prix.

The result marks his first victory since the back end of Sao Paulo last November, making clear just how much of a success the upgrade package was, with Norris stating that his “pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had,” and that “the car was beautiful to drive.”

Norris took pole in qualifying the day before by the narrowest of margins, just 0.012 seconds over Hamilton, who then faced a grid penalty in Q3 for impeding Piastri, his fourth grid penalty in the last three race weekends. However, he wasn’t the only one penalised: championship leader Antonelli was also handed a three-place drop for failing to slow under the yellow flags. This reshuffle of positions left Norris on pole ahead of Leclerc, Piastri, and Verstappen.

Norris pounced after his lap 40 stop, retaking a lead he wouldn’t give up again

This starting grid set up a chaotic opening lap. Piastri capitalised on Norris after he went wide at Turn 2, having lost the rear of the car through a series of snaps. He took the lead on a circuit notoriously tricky to overtake on, often nicknamed “Monaco without walls.” Norris described the start of the race as “game over for the first lap.” Piastri held firm through the first pit stop cycle; however, his contact with Williams’ Carlos Sainz while lapping him cost him crucial time. Norris pounced after his lap 40 stop, retaking a lead he wouldn’t give up again.

For Piastri, a gearbox failure ended his race with 14 laps still to run, triggering a Virtual Safety Car that shuffled the whole field through a fresh round of stops. Verstappen made the most of the chaos, overtaking Hamilton on lap 16 to reclaim his position after being undercut during the pit-stop cycle. This came despite his frustrations on the team radio about his car, which he called “extremely oversteery,” and his admission afterwards that he was “still shocked” to have finished on the podium at all. Antonelli, recovering from his own grid penalty, completed the podium in third from P7, while Hamilton’s five-second pit lane speeding penalty dropped him behind teammate Leclerc to finish fifth.

Attention now turns to Formula One’s annual ‘silly season’

Beyond the result, the race showcased McLaren maximising a significant aerodynamic upgrade, headlined by a new floor which was brought specifically to suit high-downforce circuits such as the Hungaroring. The change is paying off: Norris now sits just 10 points behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the standings, a substantial turnaround from where his season started.

The Hungarian Grand Prix marks the season’s halfway point, with 11 races down and 11 to go. Despite Antonelli’s current lead, the title race isn’t settled yet and is all to play for. Hamilton remains the only driver to have scored points in every round this season and still trails Antonelli’s lead by 50 points.

With the paddock entering the summer break, attention now turns to Formula One’s annual ‘silly season.’ Verstappen’s future remains uncertain with links to McLaren and Mercedes, Alonso continues to be linked with retirement, and several seats are still under scrutiny. While the cars may be parked for three weeks, speculation certainly won’t be.