– In qualifying for the 2026 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, Lando Norris (McLaren) secured pole position on Saturday (Chronology: 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying at the Hungaroring). In the decisive Q3 segment on the 4.381-kilometer track northeast of Budapest, Norris was narrowly the fastest with a lap time of 1:17.207 minutes.
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It is the first pole position in the 2026 season, and thus under the currently valid technical regulations, not achieved by a Mercedes driver, but still by a driver with a Mercedes engine in the rear.
After the first Q3 attempts by all 10 participants, Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) had led the standings with 1:17.219. In his second attempt, he could not improve his time. Norris, however, pushed harder and was ultimately 0.012 seconds faster than Hamilton.
However, an investigation is still ongoing against Hamilton. He is suspected of having impeded Oscar Piastri (McLaren).
The most important things in brief
Result: Qualifying at the Hungaroring
Starting grid: 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix
Photos: 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix
Ticker: Paddock live with Ruben Zimmermann
With light cloud cover and an air temperature of 27 degrees Celsius, a tailwind blew on the start/finish straight during qualifying. Thus, the wind blew in the opposite direction compared to Friday.
The consequence was that in three corners there was a risk of losing control of the car: Piquet (Turn 1), Mogyorod (Turn 5), and Senna (Turn 13). But also in the final Szisz corner (Turn 14), some struggled, especially on the soft tires, which wear out very quickly.
Q3: Max Verstappen spins – George Russell only in row 4
Behind polesitter Norris and second-fastest Hamilton, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) qualified as third fastest. Should Hamilton receive a penalty, Leclerc would move up to the front row.
Fourth fastest was championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), who had two laps deleted in the Q2 segment. Nevertheless, he had made it into the decisive final segment. But Antonelli is also under investigation, in his case due to a possible offense under yellow flags.
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Fifth fastest in Q3 was McLaren driver Piastri, followed by Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who spun in the Szisz corner. George Russell (Mercedes) as well as Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), who had spun in the Q2 segment, and also Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) rounded out the top 10 of qualifying.
Q2: Hadjar spins – Alonso in Q2 for the first time in 2026
The Q2 segment featured a participant who had not been seen there this season: Fernando Alonso. In the Aston Martin AMR26, on which more or less everything else apart from the power unit and front suspension is new this weekend, Alonso survived the Q1 segment. Teammate Lance Stroll, however, did not.
Isack Hadjar had his Q2 spin in the Schumacher corner (Turn 12) after he had gone a bit too wide over the outer curb there and could no longer catch the RB22. Nevertheless, he managed to advance to the Q3 segment.
Those who were eliminated in the Q2 segment are Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), the Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, as well as Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), Esteban Ocon (Haas) and also Alonso, who was the slowest in this segment.
Regarding Lawson, it should be noted that this time he also had the upgrade package for the VCARB 03 available. Last weekend in Spa, it was only available to his teammate Lindblad. However, Lawson was now the slower of the two in qualifying even under identical technical conditions.
Q1: Williams misses Q2 entry – Cadillac in last row
The two Alpine drivers Gasly and Colapinto had just made it into the top 16 and thus into Q2 in the last minute of the Q1 segment. Meanwhile, it was the end of the road directly in Q1 for Oliver Bearman (Haas), the Williams duo Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, as well as Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and the Cadillac duo Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Albon had a slide on his very first flying lap and was defeated by Sainz in the Williams team duel by 0.037 seconds. At the very back, Perez was almost half a second slower than Cadillac teammate Bottas.
The Hungarian Grand Prix, over a distance of 70 laps at the Hungaroring, will start on Sunday at the usual time of 3:00 PM.
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