F1 Qualifying Results for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix: Hamilton, Antonelli Handed Grid Penalties

The Hungarian Grand Prix will be our final race before the Formula 1 'summer break', and this is a welcome challenge for the 11 teams on the F1 grid prior to the three-week reprieve.

Although the teams are entering a break period, Hungary was a breeding ground for several major upgrades up and down the grid. Finally, after a season of immense struggle, Aston Martin has brought a whopping 16 upgrades in part one of their three-part car redesign. The following updates will come at Zandvoort (updated Honda power unit) and Baku.

Throughout the three practice sessions, it wasn't our usual suspects in the Mercedes garage topping sessions, but a trade between the McLaren of Lando Norris and both of the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Lando Norris McLaren F1 | IMAGO / NurPhoto

In the end, it was Lando Norris' McLaren who topped the qualifying hour, taking his first pole position of the season after his 2025 F1 World Championship win.

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2026: Q1 Results

One of the largest issues around Hungaroring for the drivers are the track limits rules. Throughout the session, several push laps were deleted, putting drivers at risk late in the session.

The real story, though, comes in the form of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso. The updates that the team brought to Hungary appear to have paid off in pure pace. Alonso made it into Q2 of Qualifying, while Stroll was firmly on pace – at the very least – only one thousandth of a second behind Williams.

Fernando Alonso Aston Martin F1 | IMAGO / DeFodi Images

As for the front of the grid, it was McLaren's Lando Norris who topped the Q1 session, but this was on soft tires. Ferrari, their closest competitors, made it through on medium tires – freeing up a set of soft tires. They were the only team on the grid to make this call and it was a crucial call in their hunt for pole at Hungaroring.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap to Q2 [s]
17.	Bearman / Haas	+0.107
18.	Sainz / Williams	+0.495
19.	Albon / Williams	+0.532
20.	Stroll / Aston Martin	+0.533
21.	Bottas / Cadillac	+0.760
22.	Perez / Cadillac	+1.196

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2026: Q2 Results

Q2 brought Hungaroring the qualifying drama that we are used to around this track. First, Hadjar spun during his first laps around Turn 12. Luckily, the Red Bull driver was able to save it before making contact with the wall and safely made it through to Q3, topping the session temporarily in his lap after the spin.

The real drama came to play with Antonelli and Russell finishing in P8 and P9. While Antonelli may have had a reason to be there, with his fastest lap deleted and forcing his final lap to be the only one that counted in Q2, Russell is simply struggling for pace again.

Mercedes F1 Car — May 24, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli (12) during the Lenovo Grand Prix Du Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The other shock result is Lawson being knocked out of the Top 10 by the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg has had an incredibly unlucky season, yet to score a single point, and this could be the weekend that this changes.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap to Q3 [s]
11.	Lawson / Racing Bulls	+0.126
12.	Gasly / Alpine	+0.205
13.	Colapinto / Alpine	+0.388
14.	Bortoleto / Audi	+0.466
15.	Ocon / Haas	+1.095
16.	Alonso / Aston Martin	+1.169

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix Pole and Q3 Results

Q3 had a very bizarre end that left many of our pole position contenders either furious or scratching their heads. First, it seemed that no one could find the pace to put in faster laps than their first Q3 laps. Both Ferraris put in consistently yellow sectors.

Then, Max Verstappen's Red Bull spun on his final push lap, impeding runs for our current World Championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, and his teammate George Russell. Even so, the only car that could put the fight to Hamilton's first Q3 lap was Lando Norris.

Norris claimed pole at Hungaroring in 2024, and this track was also home to one of his several wins in 2025 that brought him the world championship title. McLaren was another team that brought upgrades to Hungary, and, clearly, they have paid off.

Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton were both investigated for penalties post-session, with both being given a three-place grid drop.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap to Lead [s]
1.	Lando Norris / McLaren	-
2.	Hamilton / Ferrari	+0.012
3.	Leclerc / Ferrari	+0.238
4.	Antonelli / Mercedes	+0.272
5.	Piastri / McLaren	+0.477
6.	Verstappen / Red Bull	+0.518
7.	Russell / Mercedes	+0.553
8.	Hadjar / Red Bull	+0.649
9.	Lindblad / Racing Bulls	+1.074
10.	Hulkenberg / Audi	+1.479

The Hungarian Grand Prix will begin at 9AM ET on Sunday, July 26th.

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