Norris ends Mercedes streak with stunning Hungary pole

Hamilton appeared set to end his three-year pole drought after moving to the top of the order in Q3, before Norris survived two late yellow flags to beat him by just 0.012s with a 1m17.207s.

It marked the first time Mercedes had failed to take pole this season, with world championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualifying fourth and George Russell further back in seventh after both encountered late drama.

Antonelli appeared to be on a lap capable of challenging for pole before being caught by a yellow flag caused by Max Verstappen, who spun his Red Bull at the final corner on his last push lap.

Russell then triggered a second yellow flag in the closing seconds when his Mercedes stopped on track with a water leak.

Oscar Piastri was unable to match Norris’ time on his final attempt, with the Australian being significantly impeded by Hamilton, who was on a slow lap as Piastri attempted to pass him into Turn 1.

A frustrated Piastri responded with a sarcastic thumbs-up towards the Ferrari driver, while Hamilton raised his hand in apology as the seven-time world champion was placed under investigation for the incident, admitting after the session he was unaware the McLaren was behind him.

Charles Leclerc qualified third behind Norris and Hamilton, while Verstappen ended the session sixth despite his late spin.

Russell finished seventh ahead of Isack Hadjar, while Arvid Lindblad continued his strong form by qualifying ninth.

Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10 after reaching Q3 for only the second time in 2026.

Norris said was delighted with the pole position, his first as world champion and the 17th of his career.

 

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“Very happy to be back on top,” he said.

“A tough quali. Obviously these guys here were very quick. And it’s been pretty tight the whole weekend. But we’ve seemed quick from the first laps that we did and we brought a few upgrades.

“It’s hard to know how much it helps in terms of lap time, but it certainly helped today. So very happy to be back on top, especially at a track where you certainly want to be on pole.”

He added that he had felt good in the car throughout all of Saturday’s sessions, but admitted it was a surprise to emerge on top.

“I had confidence the whole of today. My laps in Q3 were not the best, even the one at the end, so pleasantly surprised to be on top,” he said.

“But we’ve been doing a good job. The car’s been feeling good. I’ve had good confidence. I certainly pushed it a little bit more on the last lap.

“Some paid off, some didn’t. But the main thing is we did it in the end, so I’m very pleased for the team.

“A big thanks to them for working so hard. And another big job for tomorrow.”

Norris believed he could challenge for the win, although he felt the Ferrari pair starting behind him could be in a stronger position with their tyre options based on how they qualified.

“I’m in the best position for it of course, but these guys, they get good starts,” he explained.

“They’ve been fast all season. So I’m expecting still a tough race.

“Obviously they did Q1 on the mediums, so it’ll be interesting to know what tyre they’re going to start on tomorrow. So they may be in a potentially slightly better position with some things, but otherwise we did the job that we had to do today. So I’m pleased for that.

“And tonight we’ll make sure we prepare in the best way possible for tomorrow.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, said he was disappointed to miss out on pole after he was unable to reproduce the same pace on his final run that he had shown across the weekend.

“We’ve been doing a great job all weekend. I felt solid throughout qualifying. And for some reason, I mean, we went out first, which I don’t think was the right call,” he said.

“But then on top of that, just the grip for some reason wasn’t there on that last lap I think for both Charles and I.

“It’s obviously a track that I love. I think we’re obviously competitive, but I think tomorrow’s going to be a hard day.”

He added that he was also worried about a possible penalty for impeding Piastri, saying he had not been aware of anyone approaching him at the time.

“We were quickest throughout qualifying, so it definitely got away from us,” he said of missing pole.

“I think my mind is just elsewhere right the second because once I finished my lap, I don’t know if I got in the way of someone.

“So I’m just trying to run that through my mind because I wasn’t aware anyone was coming.”

Leclerc admitted the conditions in qualifying were difficult, adding that he believed he got the most out of the car during a “messy” session.

“There was quite a bit of a wind change and I don’t think I did a great job anticipating it with the car setup,” he said.

“I felt a little bit off from this morning. And then qualifying has been quite messy to be honest.

“We’ve been a bit unlucky in Q2 with a yellow flag in the last sector. And then we were kind of trying to play catch up.

“But the pace was never to the level of Lewis. So it was all about trying to maximise today and I felt I kind of did it.”

Norris topped Q2 with a 1m17.456s, finishing 0.170s clear of Leclerc as the order around the cut-off changed repeatedly during the final runs.

Hadjar recovered from a spin at Turn 12 to secure fourth in the session, while Antonelli progressed in eighth after having an earlier lap deleted and complaining of a lack of grip.

Hulkenberg ultimately claimed the final place in Q3, leaving Liam Lawson on the wrong side of the cut-off in 11th by 0.126s.

The New Zealander reported that his Racing Bulls car was “hard to drive” after being pushed out of the top 10 during the closing stages.

Pierre Gasly was eliminated in 12th ahead of Franco Colapinto, while Gabriel Bortoleto finished 14th after moving into the top 10 with his final attempt before being displaced by later improvements.

Esteban Ocon could manage only 15th, with Fernando Alonso slowest in Q2 after temporarily climbing into the final Q3 position earlier in the session.

Despite his eventual elimination, Alonso’s progression from Q1 marked the first time Aston Martin had reached Q2 all season, providing an encouraging sign that the team’s much-discussed upgrades had delivered some progress.

Norris also set the pace in Q1 with a 1m18.277s, finishing 0.379s clear of Verstappen before attention turned to the battle for the final places in Q2.

Bortoleto entered the closing stages in the bottom six after having his initial lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 4, but the Audi driver responded on his final attempt by jumping to ninth and securing his place in Q2.

The fight around the cut-off continued to shift as Oliver Bearman initially climbed to 14th, only for late improvements from Gasly and Colapinto to push the Haas driver back into danger.

Alonso also found enough time on his final run to move into 16th and claim the last available place in Q2, leaving Bearman 0.107s short of progressing in 17th.

Carlos Sainz finished 18th after running off the track at Turn 4 during his opening attempt and was unable to improve enough on his final run, while Alex Albon followed his Williams teammate in 19th after ending the session just 0.037s behind the Spaniard.

Lance Stroll was eliminated in 20th behind Albon, while Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez completed the bottom six in 21st and 22nd respectively, with neither Cadillac driver able to find enough pace on their final attempts to move away from the back row.

The Hungarian Grand Prix gets underway at 3pm local time on Sunday (11pm AEST).

Results: Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, Qualifying