#F1 #Qualifying: @LandoNorris snatches #HungarianGP pole from @LewisHamilton by 0.012s.
Lando Norris, #1, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL40, celebrates in Parc Ferme after taking pole position. Qualifying, Formula 1 AWS Hungarian Grand Prix 2026, Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. Norris Hungarian GP Pole, 2026 Hungarian GP Qualifying, F1 Hungarian GP Qualifying Results, Formula 1 Hungary Qualifying Results.
Norris Hungarian GP Pole – Reigning World Champion Lando Norris snatched pole position from Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton in an intense qualifying session at the Hungarian GP by a slim 0.012 seconds as Charles Leclerc rounded out the top three for the Scuderia.
This was Norris’s 17th-career pole position as the Briton attempts to score his first victory of the season.
In Q3, the initial flyers saw Verstappen lead the pack out and the Dutchman registered the benchmark of a 1:17.725 with three personal bests as Piastri jumps to P1 with a 1:17.684.
Norris with two purples grabbed provisional pole setting a 1:17.320 to be 0.364 clear of Piastri.
Hamilton snatched provisional pole from Norris with the best sector one and three time by posting a 1:17.219 to be 0.101 seconds clear whilst team-mate Leclerc slotted into third with a 1:17.445.
Championship leader Antonelli ended up fourth with three personal best efforts to set a 1:17.579 whilst team-mate Russell moved into seventh and was 0.541 seconds off Hamilton’s benchmark.
The final hot-laps saw Hamilton lead the pack on track and the Briton was unable to improve with a 1:18.906, Leclerc also did not improve as Verstappen suffered a spin at the final corner bringing out the yellow flags.
Antonelli with three personal bests improved but remained in fourth and posted a 1:17.479 effort as Norris with a purple middle sector and two personal bests pipped Hamilton to take the Hungarian GP pole position by a slim 0.012 seconds.
Hamilton is currently under investigation by the stewards for impeding Piastri.
Piastri qualified fifth and ahead of Verstappen who was sixth and Mercedes’ Russell who took seventh.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar placed eighth as RB’s Arvid Lindblad and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten.
In the middle segment, which was topped by Norris, a late improvement from Leclerc saw RB’s Liam Lawson eliminated from Q2 and the Kiwi missed out on Q3 by 0.126 seconds and will start outside the top ten in 11th place.
Alpine pairing Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto ended up 12th and 13th respectively whilst Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto took 14th.
Haas’s Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso were the slowest of the Q2 eliminatees in 15th and 16th respectively.
In the first qualifying stage, which was topped by Norris, a late improvement from Colapinto sent Haas’s Oliver Bearman out of Q1 with the Briton missing out on a Q2 appearance by 0.107 seconds and ended up 17th.
The Williams pairing of Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon qualified in 18th and 19th respectively as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 20th.
Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez brought up the rear.
You can see the full Formula 1 AWS Hungarian Grand Prix 2026 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: FORMULA 1 AWS HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX 2026 – QUALIFYING
2026 Hungarian GP – The Top Three
2026 Hungarian GP Pole Position – Lando Norris, #1, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL40 – 1:17.207:
“Very, very happy. very happy to be back on top. A tough Quali, these guys [Ferrari] were very quick and it has been tight all weekend. We brought a few upgrades, hard to know how much [they] helps but it helped today. Honestly, I have confidence the whole of today. We have been doing a good job; the car has been doing good. Very pleased for the team. Another big job for tomorrow.”
2nd Place – Sir Lewis Hamilton, #44, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-26 – 1:17.219:
“Firstly, congratulations to Lando for a great lap. I felt solid throughout Qualifying and for some reason… We went out first which I didn’t think was the right call, and the grip just wasn’t there for Charles and I. I think tomorrow will be a hard day. We were quickest throughout Qualifying so that got away from us.”
3rd Place – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-26 – 1:17.445:
“Today there was quite a bit of a wind change, and I don’t think I did a great job, I felt a bit off and then Qualifying was messy. We were playing catch up, but the pace was never to the level of Lewis so it was all about maximising and I felt I did that.”
