Lando Norris of McLaren secured his first Formula 1 victory of the 2026 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, ending an eight-month wait for a full Grand Prix win. The win marked McLaren‘s entry into the 2026 season’s Grand Prix winners’ circle, following eight victories for Mercedes and two for Ferrari in the first 10 rounds.
Norris, who started on pole position, initially lost the lead to his teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap after running wide at the second corner. However, Norris regained the lead after Piastri was involved in a collision with Williams‘ Carlos Sainz and subsequently retired due to an apparent gearbox issue. Norris described his car’s performance as “unbelievable” and expressed his happiness to be back at the top.
Podium finishes and championship standings
Following Piastri‘s retirement, Max Verstappen of Red Bull moved into second place. Verstappen navigated a race he described as “survival” after struggling with his car’s balance during qualifying. Despite starting provisionally in sixth, and then gaining two places due to penalties for Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli, Verstappen secured a podium finish. He managed to take third place from Charles Leclerc on the opening lap and later passed Liam Lawson into Turn 1 after a pit stop.
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes secured third place, extending his lead in the Drivers’ standings. Antonelli arrived at the Hungaroring with a strengthened championship lead after a victory in Belgium. Despite receiving a penalty for a yellow flag infringement that dropped him to seventh on the grid, Antonelli made gains during the race, climbing to third. His podium finish marked his ninth in 11 races and further increased his advantage in the championship to 50 points over Lewis Hamilton.
It was a more challenging race for Antonelli‘s teammate, George Russell, who fell to the back of the field after a difficult start caused by anti-stall. Russell managed to recover to seventh place but dropped 59 points behind Antonelli in the standings. Hamilton, after a three-place grid penalty in qualifying and a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during the race, finished in fifth place.
Midfield battles and other race results
In the midfield, Racing Bulls had a strong showing, securing a double points finish. Liam Lawson finished in eighth place after an “exhilarating contest” with Audi‘s Nico Hulkenberg, who was seeking his first points of the season. Lawson‘s teammate, Arvid Lindblad, achieved his sixth consecutive top-10 finish, rounding out an impressive first half of his maiden F1 campaign in tenth place.
Ferrari, despite topping the timesheets in Friday practice, saw their form decline as the weekend progressed. Charles Leclerc finished in fourth, and Lewis Hamilton in fifth, after a disappointing end to what had initially promised a strong performance.
In other racing categories, Noel Leon won the F2 Feature Race for Campos Racing, aided by a Virtual Safety Car deployment. He beat polesitter Kush Maini and Rafael Camara. Leon‘s teammate, Nikola Tsolov, maintains a 20-point lead in the championship over Gabriele Mini. In F3, Freddie Slater of TRIDENT won the Feature Race, beating Ugo Ugochukwu by 1.4 seconds and now leads his rival by eight points in the standings.
The Hungarian Grand Prix was the final race before the mid-season break. The next Formula 1 race will be the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23.
Source: formula1.com
Ethan Brule is a Senior Hockey Writer at CasinoNews. He covered the NHL for a national Canadian outlet. He focuses on the NHL, the Maple Leafs and Team Canada and is known for clear, deadline-driven reporting. He holds a degree in Sports Media from Toronto Metropolitan University. Now based in Toronto, he plays beer-league hockey and follows the junior ranks. “Hockey in Canada is never only about the score.”
