- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,239,418
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
British Formula one driver Lando Norris of team McLaren, speaks to the media upon his arrival at the Hungaroring in Mogyorod, ahead of the 2026 Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix. David Davies/PA Wire/dpa
Lando Norris of McLaren claimed pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix as Mercedes' 100% qualifying record over the season came to an end on Saturday.
Reigning world champion Norris clocked 1 minute 17.207 seconds as he initially denied Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton a record extending 10th pole on the 4.381-kilometre Hungaroring by the fraction of .012 of a second.
But the seven-time world champion Hamilton was later demoted three spots on the grid later for impeding the other McLaren driver Oscar Piastri who had to abort a fast lap.
As a result, he will now start in fifth, also behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the first Mercedes and Piastri.
However, Antonelli is also under investigation for possibly speeding under yellow flags after Red Bull's Max Verstappen spun off late in the session.
The second Mercedes driver, George Russell, was seventh and stopped on the track in the end with what what the team named a water leak problem.
Antonelli and Russell had claimed pole for all previous 10 grands prix of the season but were not the dominant force all weekend as Ferrari and resurgent McLaren dominated.
"We knew Budapest would be difficult because it is not a track for us," Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted to Sky TV, while Antonelli admitted that pole was out of reach.
Norris, who had also topped final practice earlier in the day, said: "Very happy to be back on top.
"A tough qualifying. These guys [Ferrari] were very quick. It's been tight the whole weekend but we seemed quick from the first laps we did and we brought a few upgrades.
"We have been doing a good job. The car has been feeling good, I've had good confidence. I pushed it more on the last lap - some paid off, some didn't but the main thing is we did it in the end."
Hamilton said it wasn't a good idea to go out first at the end of Q3 and voiced concern over the Piastri incident before he was summoned to meet the stewards and was demoted.
"Once I finished my lap I don't know if I got in the way of someone," he said. "So I'm trying to just run that through my mind because I wasn't aware anyone was coming."
There was also joy for Aston Martin as an upgraded car helped them get out of Q1 for the first time in the season, with ex-champion Fernando Alonso finishing 16th.
Antonelli won last week in Austria for a sixth season success and tops the championship 45 points ahead of Hamilton. Russell is 50 points behind Antonelli.
You must be registered for see images attach
British Formula One driver Lando Norris of team McLaren drives during the Third Practice at the Hungaroring in Mogyorod near Budapest ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix 2026. David Davies/PA Wire/dpa
You must be registered for see images attach
British Formula One driver Lando Norris of team McLaren drives during the Third Practice at the Hungaroring in Mogyorod near Budapest ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix 2026. David Davies/PA Wire/dpa
Continue reading...
