Lando Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring with an assured drive for McLaren, securing his and the team’s first victory of the year. Max Verstappen finished second and Kimi Antonelli took third after a strong recovery drive from seventh on the grid, while Lewis Hamilton fought through all 70 laps, served a five-second penalty and finished fifth.
Oscar Piastri, who had been leading, retired on lap 56 with a gearbox problem. The McLaren driver was left furious that he believed he had been struck and blocked while trying to lap the Williams of Carlos Sainz at a key moment in the race.
Championship leader Antonelli extended his lead further, while Mercedes teammate George Russell suffered another setback when his car went into anti-stall on the grid and dropped him to 20th. Russell drove hard to recover to seventh, but he lost even more points to the Italian as the sport headed into its summer break. Antonelli now leads Hamilton by 50 points and Russell by 59.
The team’s improved form since bringing upgrades was evident, and Norris made the most of it. It was his second win in a row in Hungary and the 12th win of his career. With Norris also winning here last year and Piastri winning in 2024, McLaren have extended their record to 14 victories at the Hungaroring.
Norris just held the lead from pole into turn one, but Piastri surged up behind him from third and took the place at turn two. Hamilton moved from fifth to fourth and Charles Leclerc dropped to fifth.
Piastri controlled the race in clean air through the first stops, during which Hamilton and Verstappen produced an entertaining battle. Ferrari pitted Verstappen a lap after Hamilton to cover off the Ferrari stop, but Hamilton’s out-lap was rapid, including a sharp, decisive pass on Arvid Lindblad, and the British driver took the place as the Dutchman emerged from the pits. Verstappen was not deterred, however, and a lap later launched himself up the inside of Hamilton, late on the brakes with a brilliant move at turn one, to regain the place.
Max Verstappen’s Red Bull (left) and Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari were involved in an entertaining battle in the early stages. Photograph: Tamas Vasvari/EPA
The McLarens maintained control, running line astern a second apart, although Norris believed he was faster than his teammate and should be let past.
Hamilton made his second stop on lap 30 and Piastri was called in on lap 33, giving Norris the clean air he wanted. He then produced a series of quick laps, while Piastri had very bad luck, being impeded and struck by Sainz as he tried to move past. The Australian was nearly knocked off the track but just held control to continue.
“Is he fucking stupid or what? Get out of the fucking way, you idiot! Oh my god,”
a furious Piastri told his team.
Norris pitted on lap 39 and emerged in front of his teammate, with the incident involving Sainz — who had not spotted Piastri and turned into the McLaren — costing the Australian the place.
After Verstappen’s second stop, having stayed out longer, Hamilton had moved ahead of him, but the Dutchman had fresher tyres. Norris decisively passed Antonelli to retake the lead on lap 46 and quickly showed that he did have much more pace than his teammate, opening up a strong advantage.
Piastri retired by pulling off the track on lap 56, prompting a virtual safety car. Under the VSC, Hamilton took a quick pit stop, as did Norris, while Verstappen stayed out and gained track position, as did Antonelli.
Hamilton, on new rubber, attacked Antonelli, but the British driver was also under investigation for speeding in the pit lane. Hamilton harried the Italian but did not have enough of an advantage to pass, and then received a five-second penalty, dropping him from fourth to fifth.
Norris, however, was serene out front and closed out the race with calm control, taking the flag from Verstappen by 15 seconds.
What was announced about the F1 calendar?
Earlier in the day, F1 confirmed the addition of a race at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, to take place between the rounds in Baku and Singapore on 4 October. The meeting, which is replacing the cancelled Bahrain GP, will be called the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with Bahrain understood to be meeting much of the costs of hosting the race at the circuit near Kuala Lumpur.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, also cancelled because of the war in the Middle East, will not be replaced.
Sepang last held an F1 meeting in 2017, when Verstappen won, and the addition of the race brings the calendar back to 23 races, if the two meetings that close the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are able to take place. F1 is understood to be considering adding a race at Imola as the season finale if they are called off.
Key Facts
- Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix for McLaren’s first victory of the year.
- Verstappen finished second and Antonelli finished third.
- Piastri retired on lap 56 with a gearbox problem.
- Hamilton finished fifth after a five-second penalty.
- F1 confirmed a Sepang race in Malaysia for 4 October.
