Norris converts pole into Hungarian GP victory

Lando Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix for McLaren, giving the team its first victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season and his first Grand Prix win of the year. Norris converted pole position into the win after teammate Oscar Piastri led early, but McLaren’s pit strategy and a late-race incident between Piastri and Williams driver Carlos Sainz changed the outcome on a track where overtaking was difficult.

Piastri passed Norris at the start and led for much of the race before losing time when he was delayed while lapping Sainz on lap 38 or 39. Sainz said a blue-flag warning system on his steering wheel was disabled because of GPS-related issues, while stewards ruled him entirely at fault and gave him a five-second penalty. Piastri, who said the contact was unacceptable, later retired with a gearbox failure after McLaren said it had pitted him to cover Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

Max Verstappen finished second and said he was shocked by the result, while Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli took third and extended his championship lead. Ferrari’s weekend unravelled after strong practice, with Charles Leclerc fourth and Hamilton fifth after a pit-lane speeding penalty, plus earlier qualifying and strategy setbacks. The race closed the first half of the season at the Hungaroring, where the resurfaced track and McLaren’s upgrades had been major talking points all weekend.