While McLaren’s Lando Norris starts from pole as reigning champion for the first time, the two drivers at the head of 2026 standings both have grid drops in Budapest, meaning it’s Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who lines up alongside Norris on the front row.
Leclerc’s team mate Lewis Hamilton was the quicker red car in Qualifying – just 0.012s off pole – but was penalised three grid places for impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who now starts third alongside Max Verstappen’s Red Bull as Hamilton drops to fifth.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was similarly demoted three spots after he failed to slow sufficiently under the yellow flags caused by a spin for Verstappen in Q3. The Italian had out-qualified his Mercedes team mate, but now starts seventh, one place behind George Russell.
In a very tight top 10, Isack Hadjar is eighth on the grid, despite being just a tenth down on his Red Bull team mate, while Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg complete the first five rows.
At the other end of the order, having qualified 22nd for Cadillac, Sergio Perez will now start from the pit lane after the American team made set-up changes to his car whilst under Parc Ferme conditions.
The 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix starts at 1500 local time. Be sure to join our live coverage from 1400 here.
