Investigations against Hamilton and Antonelli
This could still cause trouble. Lewis Hamilton blocked Oscar Piastri at the end of Q3 in Turn 1, and Kimi Antonelli might have violated the yellow flag caused by Max Verstappen.
In both cases, there is an investigation. Should a retrospective penalty follow, you will, of course, find out here.
Read more «I’m quitting now!»: Thiim snaps after Preining’s dominant performance
- oldest first
- newest first
- 8
- 16
- 32
Second investigation against Antonelli
Curious: After an investigation into whether Antonelli drove too fast, there is now a second investigation – because he might have been too slow. He apparently exceeded the maximum allowed lap time in qualifying once.
Usually, in such cases, there is no penalty due to mitigating circumstances. However, we will, of course, keep an eye on it. The hearing is scheduled for 18:25.
Antonelli: I lifted off the throttle
While Hamilton can hardly escape a penalty, Antonelli emphasizes to Sky: “The yellow flag was waved just as I was entering the corner. So I did my best to lift off the throttle.”
Without the yellow flag, he believes he would have finished at least in P3, “but I don’t think it would have been pole position,” he also admits. Because his lap was “not good enough for pole.”
However, he does not expect a penalty.
Investigations
Small side note: Hamilton has to report to the stewards at 18:00, Antonelli is summoned for 18:15. Based on experience, it will probably take a while until we get the verdicts.
Expert expects Hamilton penalty
Martin Brundle says about the Hamilton-Piastri incident on Sky: “He will get a penalty. Usually, it’s three places, unless you deliberately impede someone – which he didn’t do.”
Therefore, there should be no harsher penalty for Hamilton. However, according to Brundle, he won’t get around the three places. “Lewis obviously didn’t get a message over the radio,” says the expert.
“But that doesn’t mean you get away with impeding.”
McLaren Pole “a nice surprise”
Team Principal Andrea Stella says on Sky: “This is a nice surprise. We brought some upgrades here and found that they work well. We made the car a few tenths faster.”
“But we never thought that would be enough to get pole position,” says the team principal, who nevertheless clarifies: “Even tomorrow, the Ferraris are still considered favorites.”
“We note the encouraging signs that emerge from the result, but remain realistic. There is still a lot of work ahead of us to permanently maintain the position we are in today,” says Stella.
Hamilton: Didn’t know someone was coming
The record world champion knows that a penalty still threatens him. “I didn’t even know that someone would be coming [behind me],” he says about the scene where he quite clearly blocked Piastri in Turn 1.
Apart from that, he is annoyed about the missed pole, because: “We were the fastest throughout qualifying,” he emphasizes. So they messed it up themselves in the end.
“We did a great job all weekend. I felt good throughout qualifying, and for some reason, we went out first [in the second run].”
That was “not the right decision,” says Hamilton, who was still ahead after the first run in Q3.
Qualifying Overview
Report
Results
Starting Grid
Photos: F1: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest) 2026
Open Session Ticker now!
In ten minutes, qualifying begins in Budapest, and we are moving the action back to our session ticker for now. So, there’s a short break here; after the end of qualifying, we will continue at this point with the voices on Saturday.
And if you want to know how you can watch the Hungarian race live this weekend, you can find out here!
Read more Toto Wolff: Max Verstappen currently «not the right thing» for Mercedes
Progress at Mercedes
Can Mercedes fight for pole right away? Andrew Shovlin explains after yesterday’s difficulties: “We have a pretty different car today.” And the changes seem to be working, in his opinion.
“It’s damn close at the front with Ferrari and McLaren,” he knows. Nevertheless, Shovlin confidently says: “Hopefully, the cars can fight for the front row again.”
Formula 2: Important Victory for Alpine Junior
Gabriele Mini has just won the Formula 2 sprint race. An important victory for the Alpine junior, who is second in the championship. Because leader Nikola Tsolov from Red Bull did not see the checkered flag.
The Bulgarian retired after a collision with Sebastian Montoya. Oliver Goethe also remained without points, finishing twelfth.
Will Hamilton make history?
Lewis Hamilton has already been on pole nine times at the Hungaroring. That is a Formula 1 record. The Brit could therefore become the first driver in the history of the premier class to take ten poles at one track.
But it won’t be easy, because all ten previous pole positions this year went to Hamilton’s former employer Mercedes. Will this streak end today? It doesn’t seem impossible, at least.
Livestream
A quick note on our own behalf: Today and tomorrow, there will be a major video analysis of the events in Budapest on the Formel1.de YouTube channel in the evening. The planned start time is always 21:00.
FT3 Overview
Report
Results
Photos: F1: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest) 2026
Open Session Ticker now!
In ten minutes, the third and final practice session begins in Budapest. We are therefore moving the action to our session ticker for now. So, there’s a short break here; after the end of practice, we will continue as usual at this point.
And if you want to know how you can watch Formula 1 live this weekend in Hungary, you can find out here!
One or two stops?
Pirelli is currently still unsure about which strategy will prevail on Sunday. Based on Friday’s impressions, Simone Berra explains: “The insights from the first two hours of practice indicate that there is still uncertainty about how many pit stops we expect to see in Sunday’s race.”
“Given the greater tire wear observed during the second session when drivers pushed harder, a two-stop strategy seems to offer an advantage over a one-stop race,” says Berra.
“However, the difficulty of overtaking at the Hungaroring must also be taken into account, as track position remains a crucial factor on this circuit,” says the chief engineer.
Meaning: Both variants are possible and can lead to success.
Curfew broken
A small side note from Hungary: Ferrari and the Racing Bulls broke the curfew last night. However, there is no penalty in either case.
Ferrari used its first joker this year, the Racing Bulls their second. In total, there are four of them. We don’t yet know exactly why they had to or wanted to break the curfew.
Read more First race at the Tokyo E-Prix: DS-Penske highlights its potential
