Lando Norris starts on pole for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli received three-place grid penalties following Saturday qualifying at the Hungaroring. The 11th round of the Formula 1 season begins on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at 3 p.m. local time.
The starting grid for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix underwent a major shakeup on Saturday evening after the FIA confirmed post-qualifying penalties for two of the sport’s top drivers.
Lando Norris Claims Pole Position for McLaren
Hamilton and Antonelli Penalties Reshuffle the Front Row
Following the qualifying session for the 2026 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, two top drivers were under investigation. It quickly became clear from the footage that Lewis Hamilton (second in Q3) would face a three-place grid penalty, the standard sanction for obvious obstruction of another driver. As for Kimi Antonelli (fourth in Q3), in the absence of clearer evidence, it was necessary to await the stewards’ decision. The stewards also decided to impose a three-place grid penalty on the championship leader, ruling that there were sufficient mitigating circumstances to exempt him from the standard five-place penalty for failing to slow down sufficiently under yellow flags. Once these two penalties had been imposed, the FIA was then able to publish the final qualifying results.
Lando Norris quipped McLaren were in “new man’s land” ahead of starting from the head of a Grand Prix grid for the first time this year, as Lewis Hamilton maintained hope that he could fight back from his qualifying penalty in the Hungarian Grand Prix. World champion Norris will start from pole position on a Sunday for the first time since last November in Las Vegas after usurping Hamilton from the top of the timesheet with his final lap of Q3. Hamilton had been due to be the Ferrari driver starting alongside him on the front row but was handed a three-place penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri. Third-fastest Charles Leclerc was therefore promoted to second place in the other Ferrari, with McLaren’s Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen moving onto the second row following Kimi Antonelli’s penalty.
The 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, and it closes out the first half of the F1 season as the 11th of 22 races. The Hungarian GP 2026 marks the 90th anniversary of the event’s inaugural race in 1936, and Lewis Hamilton is a record eight-time winner. He sits second in the Formula One standings, as the Ferrari driver only trails Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. ET from the Hungaroring, a 14-turn 2.722-mile circuit just outside of Budapest. Lando Norris claimed the pole position, and he sits atop the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix odds board at +155, followed by Charles Leclerc at +230, Hamilton at +380 and Antonelli at +470.
The post-qualifying starting grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix has been confirmed by the FIA, after penalties were dished out to Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli. F1 is at the Hungaroring this weekend for the 11th round of the season, and the drivers are hoping for a good performance to see them off into the summer break. After the Hungarian GP, there is a four-week break from the sport until the Dutch GP in August, and Hamilton and George Russell will want to end on a high and start closing the points gap to championship leader Antonelli.
Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren
Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren celebrates on arrival in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 25, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary. Lando Norris of McLaren topped the timesheet in Saturday’s qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix, securing his first pole position of the season. The defending champion clocked a lap time of 1m 17.207s on his final attempt, enough to beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to pole by only twelve thousandths of a second.
FIA have recently confirmed the outcome of the incident involving Hamilton and Piastri
FIA have recently confirmed the outcome of the incident involving Hamilton and Piastri during the closing stages of Q3. After reviewing the available evidence, the stewards concluded that Hamilton unnecessarily impeded the McLaren driver as Piastri began his final flying lap, handing the Ferrari driver a three-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race. As a result, Charles Leclerc moves up to the front row alongside Lando Norris. Kimi Antonelli has also been handed a three-place grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement in Q3, matching the sanction imposed on Hamilton, although for a different offence.
Az első idei nem mercedeses pole-t hozta a 2026-os Magyar Nagydíj időmérője
Az első idei nem mercedeses pole-t hozta a 2026-os Magyar Nagydíj időmérője szombaton, melyet a mclarenes Lando Norris nyert meg. A 2. helyen végző Lewis Hamilton, illetve a 4. Kimi Antonelli a kvalifikáció után büntetést kapott, mindkettejüket három-három hellyel sorolták hátrébb, de mára is jutott még változás. A cadillaces Sergio Perez ugyan az utolsó, 22. rajtkockát szerezte meg, ezen felül a csapat úgy döntött, a mexikói pilóta autóján a hátsó felfüggesztést, így Perez a rajtrács helyett csak a bokszutcából kezdi majd a futamot.
Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli have both been struck with three-place grid penalties
Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli have both been struck with three-place grid penalties for the Hungarian Grand Prix after separate incidents in the final qualifying session. Hamilton appeared set to claim a record-extending 10th pole position at the Hungaroring before Lando Norris snatched that top spot.
McLaren’s Lando Norris will lead the field away from pole position for the first time this season, after topping qualifying at the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. The reigning world champion has looked strong all weekend in his McLaren, and strengthened his pole threat on Saturday morning in FP3. In what proved to be a tight battle, Lando Norris snatched his first pole of the campaign by just 0.012s from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Neither Hamilton nor his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc were able to find any gains on their final flying laps, leaving them powerless to fend off Norris’ charge in the McLaren.
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