{"id":16250,"date":"2026-07-25T16:48:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/?p=16250"},"modified":"2026-07-25T17:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T17:24:20","slug":"hungarian-gp-lando-norris-beats-lewis-hamilton-by-a-hundredth-to-take-pole-in-tight-qualifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/hungarian-gp-lando-norris-beats-lewis-hamilton-by-a-hundredth-to-take-pole-in-tight-qualifying\/","title":{"rendered":"HUNGARIAN GP \u2013 Lando Norris beats Lewis Hamilton by a hundredth to take pole in tight qualifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lando Norris has beaten Lewis Hamilton by just over a hundredth of a second to take pole for the Hungarian Grand Prix, the current world champion pipping the favourite for pole in the final moments of Q3 as they tussled for pole. Norris looked in fine form as he looks to follow in Hamilton\u2019s footsteps by winning his first Grand Prix as champion in Budapest.<\/p>\n

A seventeenth career pole for reigning world champion Norris is his first since the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November last year and comes on a weekend where McLaren brought a significant upgrade package to a car that had largely underwhelmed to this point in 2026.<\/p>\n

Hamilton looked to have the advantage going into qualifying, but Norris soon put up a challenge immediately as he topped all three segments as he surprised on Saturday, after Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc topped both of Friday\u2019s sessions. The nine-time pole sitter looked on course for his tenth in Budapest and his first in three years.<\/p>\n

Hamilton had been fastest on the first runs, by just over a tenth from Norris, but neither the seven-time champion nor Leclerc could improve on their final attempts, opening the door for Norris as Max Verstappen spun at newly named Szizs (Fourteen), preventing everyone behind from improving. But the Dutchman got going again, allowing Norris to get a time in.<\/p>\n

Hamilton went over two tenths faster than Leclerc while championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fourth. He was unhappy he had been sent out first on the final Q3 runs.<\/p>\n

However, following an investigation into impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at Piquet (One) after he finished his final lap, the seven-time champion was given a three-place grid penalty meaning he starts fifth.<\/p>\n

Antonelli is also under investigation for not having sufficiently slowed as he approached yellow flags warning him of Verstappen’s spin. Verstappen\u2019s spin meant he had to settle for sixth, four and a half hundredths ahead of George Russell.<\/p>\n

Norris said, \u201cA 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. It’s hard to know how much it helps in terms of lap time, but it certainly helped today. Very happy to be back on top, especially at a track where you certainly want to be on pole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton added, \u201cI had a clean out-lap, and when I started my lap, already into Turn One I had a snap, and I was already 0.15secs down; it just cascaded from there. So, the last lap was the worst lap of all, and all the other laps were really good. We clearly had the car to be on pole today, and I just didn’t deliver. So that’s tough to swallow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercedes has appeared to struggle, which should be no real surprise as the Hungaroring often throws in an odd result in a season given its difficult setup requirements. Russell\u2019s car once again had technical woes, a water leak, which was spraying water onto his rear tyres. Mercedes asked him to pull over immediately after crossing the line, and he parked at Turn One, in an attempt to avoid damaging the engine<\/p>\n

Russell managed seventh, having not improved on his final attempt regardless of the yellow flag; that means he split the Red Bulls as he went just under a tenth faster than Isack Hadjar. The Red Bull has looked difficult to handle all weekend, Hadjar suffering his own spin on his first run in Q2 at Schumacher (twelve).<\/p>\n

Arvid Lindblad once again impressed, going best of the midfield as he was four tenths faster than Nico Hulkenberg. The Audi driver got through to the final part of qualifying after going a tenth and a quarter, ahead of Lindblad\u2019s Racing Bulls teammate. Lawson was eight hundredths faster than the Alpines, with Pierre Gasly just under a quarter of a second faster than teammate Franco Colapinto.<\/p>\n

Gabriel Bortoletto was fourteenth as he went three-quarters of a second faster than Esteban Ocon, with Fernando Alonso getting Aston Marti out of Q1 for the first time this season. However, the two-time champion went out of sync with the rest of the field during Q2, so wasn\u2019t on track when most set their best laps. But there was encouragement for Aston Martin, as their heavily upgraded car saw though he remained slowest in Q2.<\/p>\n

The performance indicates progress ahead of another huge weekend for Aston Martin following the summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix when their engine supplier Honda will also bring a significant upgrade. Alonso confirmed Aston has worked itself into F1’s midfield, squeezing through at the expense of Haas’ Ollie Bearman, who rued a “horrible” car balance.<\/p>\n

Aston’s leap forward also lifted it over fellow struggler Williams, aided by the Hungaroring not being a power-sensitive circuit where Honda’s deficit compared to the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari is masked. Bearman missed out on Q2 by just over a tenth as he was just under four tenths faster than the Williams duo.<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz nearly four hundredths faster than his teammate Alex Albon, who struggled as the balance constantly changes on his Williams. They were a thousandth ahead of the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, who was two tenths ahead of the Cadillacs. Valtteri Bottas outqualifying teammate Sergio Perez by nearly half a second.<\/p>\n

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