Norris secures pole position in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying

By Rohit Verma — 25 July 2026 — 4 min read

Lando Norris of McLaren achieved pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, delivering a late effort to surpass Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Norris capitalised on his team’s upgraded car, clocking a 1m 17.207s lap in the final moments of Q3. His timing allowed him to avoid two late yellow flags that emerged due to a spin by Max Verstappen and a stranded George Russell.

Hamilton, who had been fastest after the initial runs, could not improve on his final attempt, securing P2 ahead of Leclerc. Kimi Antonelli finished fourth, marking a challenging session for Mercedes. Russell, instructed by his team to pull over, qualified P7, behind Oscar Piastri and Verstappen. Both Red Bull drivers experienced spins during the final segment of qualifying.

Qualifying Stages Overview

The qualifying session at the Hungaroring, a circuit often compared to ‘Monaco without the walls’ due to its limited overtaking opportunities, emphasised the importance of a strong grid position. The session began with Q1, where drivers like Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, and Alex Albon were among the first to take to the track. The Williams duo, Sainz and Albon, had reportedly faced difficulties throughout the weekend, struggling with performance at the high-downforce venue.

Fernando Alonso set an early benchmark of 1m 20.685s on soft tyres, aiming to maximise his updated Aston Martin. However, Hamilton quickly surpassed this, breaking into the 1m 18s range on medium compound tyres. Hamilton’s Ferrari team-mate, Leclerc, had an initial lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. Verstappen then took P1 by a narrow margin of 0.074s, with Isack Hadjar slotting into P3, both on red-walled tyres.

Antonelli briefly moved into second place behind Verstappen before Norris completed a significant lap, going over three tenths clear at the top. In the elimination zone for Q1 were Ollie Bearman, both Williams drivers, both Cadillac drivers, and Gabriel Bortoleto, whose first lap was also discounted due to track limits. Despite Antonelli’s efforts, Norris maintained his first-place position in Q1. Ultimately, Bearman, Sainz, Albon, Lance Stroll (in an upgraded Aston Martin), Bottas, and Sergio Perez were eliminated.

In Q2, Alonso was the first driver on track, keen to demonstrate the capabilities of Aston Martin’s new package. Verstappen set an early standard of 1m 18.249s, but his team-mate Hadjar caused a yellow flag after spinning onto the grass, forcing him to return to the pits. Hamilton then recorded the fastest lap of the weekend at that point, 1m 17.931s, though he indicated he could still extract more time. Antonelli, however, expressed frustration with his tyres, reporting “zero grip,” and later had his time deleted, putting him under pressure.

Hadjar managed to secure a clean lap, moving into the top spot. Antonelli improved to P6, and Leclerc also escaped the drop zone by moving to P2, shortly after Norris reclaimed first place. Drivers eliminated from Q2 included Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, and Alonso.

Final Stage and Post-Qualifying Investigations

Q3 began gradually, with many drivers waiting to benefit from track evolution. Verstappen was the first to set a time, recording 1m 17.725s. Norris then outpaced Verstappen, but an error towards the end of his lap allowed Hamilton to take P1, holding an advantage of just over a tenth over Verstappen. After the initial runs, Hamilton was the driver to beat, followed by Norris, Leclerc, and Antonelli. Russell, in the second Mercedes, was half a second off the pace in P7.

Hamilton and Norris employed different strategies for their final attempts. Hamilton was the first on track for his last run, while Norris was the last to cross the finish line. Hamilton could not improve his time, which opened the door for Norris to secure pole position with his 1m 17.207s lap. Norris successfully navigated two yellow flags during his pole-winning run; the first was for Verstappen’s spin, and the second was prompted by Russell, who was instructed by Mercedes to abandon his session at Turn 1, leaving him in P7.

Following qualifying, an investigation was initiated regarding an incident where Hamilton potentially impeded Piastri. This could lead to a grid penalty for Hamilton. Piastri had to abort his lap after encountering Hamilton at Turn 1. Hamilton stated he was unaware Piastri was approaching, believing he was the first out and that others had finished their laps. Piastri described the incident as “pretty bad,” noting he had to watch Hamilton from the start line, expecting him to move out of the way. Antonelli is also under investigation for a potential yellow-flag infringement.

Hadjar qualified P8 for Red Bull, ahead of Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls and Nico Hulkenberg of Audi, who completed the top-10 qualifiers. The 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix is scheduled to commence on Sunday at 1500 local time.

Source: formula1.com