MOGYOROD, Hungary (AP) — Defending Formula 1 champion Lando Norris took his first pole position of 2026 when he snatched it from Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012 of a second at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Hamilton was on course for a record-extending 105th pole position, and first in a full grand prix since Hungary in 2023, before Norris darted through to take it away. Then a penalty dropped Hamilton to fifth.
“It’s been a while,” Norris said. “I felt confident all weekend.”
Norris felt he could easily have gone much faster if he'd had time for another run to iron out mistakes.
“I had the confidence to push more," he said. "I got it to unexplored territory from what happens to the balance when I push it that next level, and I lost a bit of time in a couple of places.”
Norris added that upgrades to McLaren's car give him confidence for Sunday's race, but “it’s a long race ahead tomorrow and it’s going to be a difficult one.”
Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari, .238 off the pace but will start second alongside Norris.
Mercedes had a tough day. Standings leader Kimi Antonelli was fourth after seemingly being held up by Red Bull's Max Verstappen spinning ahead of him, and teammate George Russell was seventh.
Mercedes could also be facing a repair job after Russell broke down on track on his way back to the pits.
Hamilton dropped to fifth on the grid for the race with a three-place penalty for impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The penalty means Antonelli now starts ahead of both his main title rivals, Hamilton and Russell.
The Australian driver gestured angrily at Hamilton after taking evasive action when he spotted his rival’s Ferrari going slowly on the inside of the first corner. Piastri ended up fifth.
Asked what his main problem was in qualifying, Piastri said: “Lewis not looking in his mirrors.”
Hamilton said he hadn't had the usual radio update from his team warning of faster cars behind and he told the stewards he wasn't able to spot Piastri in his mirrors.
“I was told literally when he was at the apex behind me, so I had no idea ... I thought everyone had finished their lap," Hamilton said. "Crazy because (the session) had been clean and obviously it wasn’t intentional.”
Hamilton is an eight-time winner in Hungary and this was a day of regrets despite being one of his best qualifying performances since he joined Ferrari last year. “We clearly had the car to be on pole today and I just didn’t deliver so that’s tough to swallow,” he said.
It's the 17th career pole in a full qualifying session for Norris, moving him level with a British hero, three-time champion Jackie Stewart. It's also his first since the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, though everything went wrong from there.
The following day he lost the lead to then-title rival Verstappen and ended the day with a double disqualification for him and McLaren teammate Piastri over a team setup issue.
Norris' last full grand prix win came a race before that in Sao Paulo, though he has one victory this year in the Miami sprint race.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates after winning the qualifying session ahead of Sunday's Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix auto race, at the Hungaroring racetrack in Mogyorod, near Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, talks to Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco after the qualifying session ahead of Sunday's Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix auto race, at the Hungaroring racetrack in Mogyorod, near Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain drives in the pit lane during a qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix auto race, at the Hungaroring racetrack in Mogyorod, near Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Attila Kisbenedek/Pool Photo via AP)
