Piastri’s victory hopes collapse as Norris wins Hungarian GP

The Australian made a superb start from third on the grid, passing Charles Leclerc into Turn 1 before taking the lead from his teammate at Turn 2 when Norris ran wide.

Piastri controlled the opening half of the race and remained ahead through the first round of pit stops before the contest swung towards Norris during the second cycle.

Piastri had been lapping faster than Norris after making his second stop and appeared likely to remain ahead once the reigning world champion came into the pits.

However, Piastri made contact with Sainz while attempting to lap the Williams at Turn 2 on Lap 38, with the Spaniard cutting across the McLaren and forcing the Australian briefly onto the grass.

The incident prompted an angry radio outburst from Piastri and cost him crucial time, allowing Norris to emerge comfortably ahead when he made his second stop on the following lap.

Here’s the Sainz/Piastri moment 💥#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/IYkdAQYTTi

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Piastri remained on course to finish second until his race unravelled completely on Lap 56, when he reported a gearbox issue and pulled over at the exit of Turn 2 to retire, bringing his promising afternoon to a heartbreaking close.

The retirement provided a cruel conclusion to what had been a commanding McLaren performance, with Norris taking the chequered flag for his first grand prix victory as world champion. He finished 15s ahead of Max Verstappen, while Kimi Antonelli recovered from seventh on the grid to complete the podium.

Charles Leclerc finished fifth on track but was promoted to fourth after his teammate Lewis Hamilton received a late five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, dropping the Briton to fifth.

Isack Hadjar finished sixth for Red Bull ahead of George Russell, who endured another afternoon to forget after hitting anti-stall on the opening lap and falling to the rear of the field before recovering to seventh.

Liam Lawson returned to the points after missing out in Belgium, finishing eighth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who scored his first points of 2026 in ninth. Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10 to secure his sixth consecutive points finish.

The victory was Norris’ 12th career win and moved him to within 91 points of championship leader Antonelli, whose podium crucially extended his advantage over Hamilton and Russell to 50 and 59 points respectively.

Norris said he was happy to be back on top of the podium for his first win since the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in 2025, adding that it had been tough after falling behind Piastri at the start.

“I don’t know what happened to be honest. I just kept losing the rear. I had like three or four big snaps,” he said of his start.

“It felt horrible and of course Oscar did a good job to get a cutback and get back past. So I think I was just a bit wide in the dirt and game over for the first lap.

“But man, I was pushing like hell to try and force him into a mistake or something.”

He added that the car felt strong throughout the race, helping him maintain pressure on Piastri during the middle phase and through the crucial second pit-stop cycle.

“My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had,” he said.

 

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“The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident. So a great race. And to get it back in terms of going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good I could always extend the stints and fresh tyres then almost won me the race.

“So I’m just happy to be back. Happy to be back and see the number one again.”

Norris said he hoped the upgrades McLaren had brought to Hungary would continue to deliver the same level of performance during the second half of the season.

“I certainly want to believe that we can continue it,” he said.

“There’s going to be moments where we’re going to struggle more. Moments that might be even better.

“But we know this track is a good one for us. It’s one of my best suited tracks of the year, so this is maybe as good as it can look for now. But I certainly believe we can still win races.

“I knew it was coming, and the team have put so much work in to make it a car that can finally win again. It’s nice to be able to do it for them.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, said he was happy to finish second, adding that he had not expected to fight so high up the order given how the weekend had unfolded before the grand prix.

“I didn’t expect to be on the podium today, but we worked hard for it,” he said.

“I think the start was decent to get through Turn 1 and 2. Then after the first stop to get back ahead of Lewis, under braking into Turn 1. And then just trying to survive on the compounds, trying to make the right calls with the strategy as well.

“So yeah, very happy considering to be second here.”

Antonelli said he was happy to come home third after a change of approach saw him switch to a two-stop strategy before holding off late pressure from the Ferrari pair of Hamilton and Leclerc.

“It was a tough race,” he explained.

“It was really hard to overtake so we had to do something with strategy. And initially we tried to go for the one stop, but then they told me that the tyre was too much on the limit, so we stopped [a second time].

“And then with the Virtual Safety Car, the two Ferraris boxed, and I knew it would have been very hard because I was on hard, they were on soft.

“But luckily we managed to keep them behind.”

Blustery conditions greeted the drivers on the grid, with 21 taking up their slots after Sergio Perez opted to start from the pit lane. All but the Ferraris inside the top 10 started on medium tyres.

Norris made a perfect start from pole, while Piastri launched superbly to vault Leclerc for second into Turn 1. It got even better for Piastri at Turn 2 as he took the lead after his teammate ran wide.

Verstappen and both Ferraris squabbled for third behind the McLarens, with Verstappen emerging on top to slot into the final podium position on the opening lap.

Leclerc dropped three places from second to fifth on Lap 1, but Russell endured an even worse start after hitting anti-stall and falling to the back. He completed the opening lap in 19th, while Hamilton hovered all over the back of Verstappen.

Lawson also made a strong start, climbing from 11th to eighth ahead of his teammate Lindblad and Hulkenberg before setting about closing the gap to Hadjar.

At the end of Lap 5, Piastri led Norris by 0.9s as Hamilton continued to pressure Verstappen. The Ferrari driver had several looks at the Dutchman under braking for Turn 1, including one that resulted in brief contact, although both continued unscathed.

By Lap 10, Russell had climbed to 12th and closed on Gasly’s Alpine, while Piastri increased his lead over Norris to 1.7s. Verstappen was a further 2.3s back and continued to hold up both Ferraris.

Hamilton became the first front-runner to pit on Lap 13 as he attempted to undercut Verstappen. He switched to hard tyres and emerged ninth ahead of Hulkenberg before passing his countryman Lindblad around the outside of Turn 5 for eighth.

Verstappen pitted on the following lap, but Hamilton had done enough to emerge ahead of the Red Bull and take net third.

On Lap 15, Valtteri Bottas reported smoke from his brakes before Cadillac told him to retire the car. He limped back to the pits, denying Piastri an opportunity to make his first stop after McLaren initially told him to box but cancelled the call when Bottas pulled over at the pit entry.

Verstappen then pulled off a superb move on Hamilton into Turn 1 on Lap 16 to retake sixth on track and net third after both had passed Lawson on the main straight. Piastri stopped on the same lap, with Leclerc also coming into the pits.

 

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Norris pitted on Lap 17 to hand Antonelli the race lead, with the reigning world champion emerging ahead of the battling Verstappen and Hamilton but behind his teammate.

Piastri had become stuck behind Hadjar, who was yet to pit, as the Frenchman backed both McLarens towards his Red Bull teammate. Piastri passed Hadjar down the main straight on Lap 19, with Norris following through into Turn 1.

Hadjar then let his teammate through before attempting to hold up Hamilton. He kept the Ferrari behind for another couple of corners before Hamilton passed for fifth.

Only two seconds separated Piastri in second from Hadjar in sixth, although the Frenchman pitted at the end of Lap 19 as Antonelli held a 12.6s lead over the Melburnian.

The world championship leader finally pitted on Lap 22, handing Piastri back the lead with the Australian 0.9s ahead of his teammate and three seconds clear of Verstappen.

Antonelli emerged sixth, one place ahead of his teammate, who had climbed to seventh but was yet to stop.

Norris pressured Piastri over the next three laps, reducing the gap to 0.7s by Lap 25 as he hovered over his teammate’s gearbox, while Piastri reported rear tyre issues.

Russell finally stopped on Lap 28 after climbing to seventh, emerging behind Gabriel Bortoleto in eighth and just ahead of Lawson. The Racing Bulls driver had several looks at the Mercedes into Turns 1 and 2 but could not find a way past.

Piastri maintained his slim margin over Norris through Lap 28, with the lead remaining below one second as the race approached halfway. Norris had several hairy moments in pursuit, including running through the Turn 4 run-off area on Lap 29, giving Piastri some extra breathing space.

Hamilton made his second stop on Lap 31 after Leclerc closed in on his teammate’s gearbox. The Briton emerged behind Hadjar in seventh as McLaren simultaneously urged Piastri to increase his pace, although the Melburnian said there was little left in his “inconsistent” car.

Piastri pitted for a second time on Lap 34 after Norris began complaining over the radio that he was faster and should be allowed through to help cover the threat from Hamilton. Piastri emerged in fifth, just behind Antonelli and 2.8s ahead of Hamilton.

Norris then set about building the gap needed to overcut his teammate, although Piastri found enough pace on his fresh hard tyres to remain within a pit stop. Leclerc, meanwhile, pitted on Lap 37 and dropped behind Hadjar, leaving him well adrift of his teammate Hamilton in fifth.

The race then turned completely on Lap 38 when Piastri became involved in the incident with Sainz’s Williams while attempting to lap him into Turn 2, with the usually composed Piastri irate over the radio at the Spaniard’s actions as Sainz was placed under investigation for the incident.

“Get out of the way you f**king idiot. Oh my god!” he said.

Despite lapping faster before the contact, Piastri lost enough time for Norris to pit on Lap 39 and emerge in the net race lead ahead of his teammate. McLaren quickly told Piastri that the Sainz incident, rather than team strategy, had cost him the position, although the Australian continued to vent furiously at his team over the radio.

Verstappen pitted on Lap 41 and emerged ahead of Leclerc but behind Hamilton, who found pace on his final set of tyres to close within two seconds of Piastri.

Antonelli then led the race for the second time, holding a 3.3s advantage over Norris, although the Italian was yet to make his second stop. Norris closed in on Antonelli by Lap 46 before passing the Mercedes into Turn 1 to take the lead on track with 24 laps remaining.

On Lap 51, Perez became the second Cadillac to hit trouble, with the Mexican limping back to the pits with an apparent front-left suspension issue before retiring.

Up front, Norris held a 6.9s lead over Antonelli, who remained on track, with Piastri a further 4.3s back in third. At the same time, Verstappen, in fifth, was told to maintain his pace on the soft tyres as he reeled in Hamilton in fourth.

Antonelli finally pitted on Lap 53, handing second back to Piastri as the Italian emerged in sixth, ahead of his teammate but behind Leclerc.

It then went from bad to worse for Piastri on Lap 56 when he reported a gearbox issue over the radio and pulled over at the exit of Turn 2 to retire, triggering the Virtual Safety Car.

 

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The VSC prompted a flurry of stops among the leaders, with Norris, Verstappen and Hamilton all pitting. Verstappen emerged ahead of Hamilton, while the Ferrari driver returned to the track just in front of Antonelli.

Ferrari then ordered Hamilton to return the position after replays suggested he may not have been ahead of Antonelli at the Safety Car line and had therefore gained the place illegally.

Green-flag racing resumed on Lap 59 as Hamilton began pressuring Antonelli for third, while Norris maintained a 6.1s lead over Verstappen in second.

On Lap 61, Hamilton was noted for a possible pit lane speeding infringement as he continued his pursuit of Antonelli in third, closing to within 0.5s by Lap 64. He was handed a five-second penalty one lap later.

Up front, Norris maintained his advantage to win ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli, while Hamilton’s penalty dropped him from fourth to fifth behind Leclerc.

Formula 1 will now take a three-week break before returning for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23.

Results: Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix