Norris nabs first poll as champ by pipping Hamilton, Leclerc P3, as Mercedes struggle with rivals’ Hungaroring pace; Antonelli’s final effort compromised by Verstappen spin, then earns penalty for not slowing

With the short, low speed and twisty Hungaroring proving the same sort of kryptonite to Mighty Mercedes as Monaco, it was other teams time to shine during Saturday Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. And the two that shone brightest were a steadily improving McLaren and what was already the second fastest team in F1 this year, Ferrari. On a very dusty and dry circuit where grip has been at a premium throughout the race weekend so far, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris keeping his car planted the best over the course of his final Q3 flying lap, bettering what had seemed like a supreme time by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by a scant eight-one hundredths of a second. Hamilton had set his fast time on the first attempt and could not improve on it with his second run, a pattern shared by most drivers in the final session. But Norris did improve, vaulting up the pylon at the death and earning his first pole position as reigning champion this season. Even worse for Hamilton, he was demoted three grid places after Quali for impeding Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri in the session. That elevated the second Prancing Horse of Charles Leclerc to P2 and the Monegaque will now start alongside Norris in Sunday’s race.

Mercedes not only failed to display their usual superior pace in Hungary but even the best efforts of their points-leading breakout star Kimi Antonelli went for naught when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spun out on his last Q3 attempt, bringing out a yellow that Antonelli was later adjudged to have not slowed enough through while transiting  the single waved yellow zone. Already a bit disappointed not to be able to improve on his P4 time, Antonelli will have it all to do in the Grand Prix, now starting from P7 and against some extremely formidable competition ahead.

With Hamilton compromising his final lap, Piastri could do no better than a P5 time, while Verstappen’s spin doomed him to P6, with Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar also struggling for grip en route to the eighth best time. Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell continued to look unsettled in the car with a mediocre P7. Rookie Arvid Lindbad was P9 for Racing Bulls and veteran Nico Hulkenberg was P10 for Audi.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Hungarian Gand Prix:

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 9 AM Eastern on AppleTV here in the States. Can Norris earn his first win of the 2026 campaign or will the high flying Ferraris surge back to take victory? And can Antonelli do his best to limit the damage or perhaps even pull an unlikely surprise? Hope to see you then to see how it all shakes out!