Lando Norris finally delivered McLaren’s Formula One triumph for the year when he won the Hungarian Grand Prix held at the Hungaroring on Sunday. With pole position, the defending champion driver took charge early at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He crossed the finish line ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes in third position. It was a 12th career race win for Norris and a first Formula One success of the season for McLaren.
Lando Norris deserved the race victory after delivering a strong performance throughout the event. The race became increasingly challenging for several of his main rivals. The win also gave McLaren a much-needed return to the top step of the podium after the team failed to win any Grand Prix earlier in the season.
Antonelli’s third-place finish allowed him to maintain a 50-point lead in the drivers’ championship. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took fourth and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth after receiving a post-race penalty.
Piastri Retires Late as Verstappen Moves into Second
It seemed that the race had been heading towards a good result for McLaren. Piastri had to withdraw from the competition in the final stages because of a gearbox failure with 14 laps to go. Piastri’s retirement helped Verstappen move up to the second position and gave Antonelli a podium spot. The Mercedes driver also profited from the strategy during the Virtual Safety Car stage, which helped him retain his position in the battle for the podium.
Verstappen took second place and scored valuable points for Red Bull Racing despite a tough weekend. Although he could not challenge Norris over the whole distance, he managed to hold off Antonelli and finish second. Leclerc came in fourth while Hamilton came in fifth but was moved down to the next spot due to a penalty for pit-lane speeding. It moved Leclerc up to fourth and Hamilton down to fifth.
Hadjar delivered another strong performance to finish sixth, while Russell recovered after a difficult start cost him several positions. An anti-stall issue affected the Mercedes driver at the beginning of the race, but he fought his way back into the points.
Hungarian Grand Prix Reshapes Title Battle
Third place that Antonelli secured turned out to be vital for his title aspirations. The Mercedes driver widened his gap over the other competitors in the standings by 50 points.
For Norris, the race was not just important from the point of view of gaining championship points. It also ended the waiting period for McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory in the current year and Norris’ first race triumph of the year as the reigning champion. The race demonstrated the differences between the fortunes of the leaders. McLaren managed to claim its first top position, Red Bull got the second place thanks to Verstappen, and Mercedes got its driver Antonelli on the podium despite Russell’s bad race.
The Hungarian Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 23-race Formula One season in 2026. With the championship entering the summer break, Antonelli has taken a considerable lead. However, the performance of Norris and Verstappen suggests that the battle for the title will continue intensifying after the break.
Next up is the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort from August 21 to 23.
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