The 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 AWS Hungarian Grand Prix 2026) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 July 2026 at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary. It was the eleventh round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship.
Lando Norris secured pole position for McLaren, ending Mercedes's run of ten consecutive pole positions since the start of the season. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), who had qualified second and fourth respectively, each received a three-place grid penalty. As a result, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was promoted to the front row alongside Norris, while Piastri and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) moved up to the second row.
Norris converted pole position into a twelfth career victory, his and McLaren's first victory of the season. The victory also allowed McLaren to extend their record for most Hungarian Grand Prix wins (14) and marked the team's third consecutive victory at the circuit. Norris's teammate Piastri led for the early stages of the race but lost time during the second pit stop sequence when he made contact with Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) while lapping him, before later retiring due to a gearbox failure.
Verstappen and Antonelli completed the podium. Antonelli increased his Drivers' Championship lead to 50 and 59 points over Hamilton and teammate George Russell respectively, while Mercedes retained a 72-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship.
Background The event was held at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród for the 41st time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 24–26 July. The Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the 41st running of the Hungarian Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship.
Championship standings before the race Going into the weekend, Kimi Antonelli led the Drivers' Championship with 204 points, 45 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second, and 50 ahead of his teammate George Russell in third. Mercedes, with 358 points, led the Constructors' Championship from Ferrari and McLaren, who were second and third with 285 and 195 points, respectively.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list, with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.
During the first practice session, five teams fielded alternate drivers who had not raced in more than two Grands Prix, as required by the Formula One regulations:
Leonardo Fornaroli for McLaren in place of Oscar Piastri. Colton Herta for Cadillac in place of Valtteri Bottas. Ryo Hirakawa for Haas in place of Oliver Bearman. Paul Aron for Alpine in place of Franco Colapinto. Frederik Vesti for Mercedes in place of Kimi Antonelli.
Tyre choices
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds—the softest three in its range, designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively—for teams to use at the event.
Practice Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 24 July 2026, at 13:30 local time (UTC+2), and was topped by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari). The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 17:00 local time, and was topped by Hamilton ahead of Leclerc and Lando Norris (McLaren). The third free practice was held on 25 July 2026, at 12:30 local time, and was topped by Norris ahead of Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes).
Qualifying Qualifying was held on 25 July 2026, at 16:00 local time (UTC+2), and determined the starting grid order for the race.
Qualifying report Qualifying was held in hot and dry conditions, with track temperatures approaching and the heat making it difficult to preserve the tyres through the Hungaroring's twisting final sector. McLaren had brought a significant upgrade package for the event.
Several drivers from the lower end of the practice order entered the circuit immediately at the start of Q1 (the first of the three segments of qualifying). Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) was the first to leave the pit lane, followed by the Williams drivers Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon. Fernando Alonso set the initial benchmark for Aston Martin. Ferrari were the only team to begin on the medium compound tyres; Hamilton moved into first place, while Leclerc's opening effort was deleted for exceeding track limits at turn 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) then moved ahead of Hamilton, with teammate Isack Hadjar initially third, before Antonelli moved into second. Norris subsequently went fastest and remained at the top for the rest of Q1. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) recovered after having their first representative laps deleted, while Alonso improved late in the session to claim the final position in the second part of qualifying (Q2) position and give Aston Martin its first Grand Prix Q2 appearance of the season. Oliver Bearman (Haas) missed progression and was eliminated in seventeenth, ahead of Sainz, Albon, Lance Stroll, Bottas and Sergio Pérez. The two Williams drivers qualified eighteenth and nineteenth, respectively, while both Cadillacs were classified on the final row.
Alonso was the first driver on track in Q2, before Verstappen established the early benchmark. Hadjar clipped the gravel and spun onto the grass, causing yellow flags which required George Russell to back off; Leclerc was noted for a possible yellow flag infringement but no further investigation was launched. Once the circuit returned to green flag conditions, Hamilton went fastest. Antonelli complained of having no grip and had a lap time deleted, while Hadjar recovered from his spin to move briefly into first. Norris reclaimed first place during the final runs, ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) improved to seventh and displaced teammate Liam Lawson from the top ten, while Antonelli recovered to advance in eighth ahead of Russell. Nico Hülkenberg secured the final place in the final part of qualifying (Q3) for Audi, beating Lawson. Lawson was eliminated in eleventh ahead of Gasly and Franco Colapinto, while Bortoleto placed fourteenth after his first lap had been compromised by Hadjar's yellow flags. Esteban Ocon, who suspected that he had damaged his floor at turn 3, qualified fifteenth ahead of Alonso.
All of the leading drivers had retained two new sets of the softest C5 tyre for Q3. Verstappen set the first timed lap, before Oscar Piastri and Norris successively moved ahead. Hamilton then took provisional pole, with Norris second after sliding while exiting the final corner. Leclerc held third after the opening runs, ahead of Antonelli, Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Hadjar, Lindblad and Hülkenberg. Hamilton, seeking a record tenth pole position at the Hungaroring and his first for a Grand Prix since the 2023, and Leclerc were the first two leading drivers to begin their final attempts. Neither Ferrari driver improved, while Hamilton encountered Piastri at turn 1 after completing his lap. Hamilton was travelling slowly on the racing line and, having received Ferrari's warning too late to see the approaching McLaren in his mirrors, forced Piastri to run wide and abandon his final attempt. Norris improved through the second and third sectors, beating Hamilton. Verstappen spun at turn 14 on his final attempt, bringing out yellow flags as Antonelli completed an improved lap to retain fourth. Russell was also unable to improve and was instructed to stop at turn 1 after vibrations from crossing the turn 4 kerb caused a water leak and loss of pressure, prompting double yellow flags. Piastri remained fifth, ahead of Verstappen and Russell, with Hadjar eighth, Lindblad ninth and Hülkenberg tenth.
Post qualifying After qualifying, the stewards determined that Hamilton had unnecessarily impeded Piastri and imposed a three-place grid penalty, demoting him from second to fifth. Their decision noted that Piastri had been forced to take avoiding action and abort his lap, while Hamilton had not been informed of the approaching car until it was already close behind. Antonelli was investigated over two separate incidents. For failing to slow sufficiently under the single yellow flags caused by Verstappen's spin, he received a three-place grid penalty and one penalty point on his FIA Super Licence, taking his total to four over the preceding 12 months. Telemetry showed that, despite lifting off the throttle earlier, his reduction in speed lasted only briefly and he passed the incident slightly faster than on his previous push lap. The standard five-place penalty was reduced because Antonelli had made an attempt to slow and had limited time and distance in which to react. Antonelli received only a warning for the second incident, in which he exceeded the prescribed maximum time between the second and first safety car lines on an in-lap, because no other driver was affected.
The two grid penalties promoted Leclerc to the front row alongside Norris, with Piastri and Verstappen on the second row. Hamilton retained fifth ahead of Russell, while Antonelli was demoted from fourth to seventh. Norris's pole was the seventeenth of his Formula One career and his first since the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix. It was also the first Grand Prix pole of 2026 for both Norris and McLaren, and ended Mercedes's run of ten consecutive pole positions at the opening ten rounds.
Qualifying classification DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q311 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:18.277 1:17.456 1:17.2071244 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:18.730 1:17.803 1:17.2195316 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.984 1:17.626 1:17.4452412 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:18.726 1:18.393 1:17.4797581 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:18.891 1:17.928 1:17.684363 Max Verstappen 1:18.656 1:18.249 1:17.7254763 George Russell Mercedes 1:18.856 1:18.445 1:17.760686 Isack Hadjar 1:18.754 1:17.872 1:17.8568941 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 1:19.233 1:18.360 1:18.28191027 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:18.796 1:18.639 1:18.686101130 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 1:19.161 1:18.765N/A111210 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes 1:19.741 1:18.844N/A121343 Alpine-Mercedes 1:19.771 1:19.027N/A13145 Audi 1:19.069 1:19.105N/A141531 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 1:20.010 1:19.734N/A151614 Fernando Alonso 1:20.126 1:19.808N/A161787 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 1:20.233N/AN/A171855 Carlos Sainz Jr. Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 1:20.621N/AN/A181923 Alexander Albon Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 1:20.658N/AN/A192018 Lance Stroll 1:20.659N/AN/A202177 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 1:20.886N/AN/A212211 Sergio Pérez Cadillac-Ferrari 1:21.322N/AN/A107% time: 1:23.756Sources: Notes – Lewis Hamilton received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri in Q3. – Kimi Antonelli received a three-place grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement. – Sergio Pérez qualified 22nd, but was required to start the race from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions.
Race The race was held on 26 July 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+2), and was run for 70 laps.
Race report The 70-lap race took place in hot and dry conditions, with the track temperature reaching approximately . Twenty-one drivers formed on the grid, while Sergio Pérez started from the pit lane following set up changes to his Cadillac. Lando Norris (McLaren) started from pole position alongside Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) on the second row. Lewis Hamilton started fifth and Kimi Antonelli seventh after both had received three-place grid penalties following qualifying. Norris, Piastri and Verstappen selected the medium-compound tyres, while Leclerc and Hamilton were among six drivers to start on softs; the remainder also began on mediums.