Lando Norris claimed his first victory of the 2026 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, finishing ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
After an opening battle with his McLaren team-mate, Oscar Piastri was forced to retire due to a gearbox failure, having earlier made contact with Carlos Sainz while lapping the Williams driver.
Elsewhere, Ferrari’s race strategy backfired for Lewis Hamilton, whose questionable pit stop was compounded by a speeding penalty that left him fourth behind partner Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar took sixth place, while George Russell recovered from stalling on the grid to finish seventh.
Thanks to his podium place, Antonelli extended his Drivers’ Championship advantage to 50 points over Hamilton and 59 over Russell.
Norris revels in win
An overjoyed Norris explained on Sky Sports: “My pace was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had.
“The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident, so a great race.
“And to get it back in terms of going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting.
“But the pace was so good, I could always extend the stints – and fresh tyres then always won me the race.”
Hamilton rues team strategy
Reflecting on his team’s strategy after the race, Hamilton stated: “I definitely don’t think we should have taken the stop.
“But the call came literally just before the pit lane entry and I didn’t have time to debate – and you’ve got to trust the decision that has been taken.
“In hindsight, my tyres were totally fine.
“I was probably going to lose out to Max, but I think I could have kept third at least.
“Then just opened up the door to obviously the penalty that I got in the end.”
READ MORE: Premier League: Fixtures and kick-off times for top-flight games in August 2026
Piastri critical of Sainz
Piastri, meanwhile, was highly critical of Sainz’s role in their collision, saying: “I was right behind him for a sector.
“I couldn’t believe what happened.
“Getting crashed into by a lapped car is never one of the things you expect that can go wrong in your race, and today it was.
“So, I don’t really care if he didn’t see me.
“The fact that he didn’t and no one told him – or there was a lack of complete awareness – is unacceptable.”
Wolff slams ‘Teletubbies engineers’
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was likewise left unimpressed by the conduct of the backmarkers.
With characteristic bluntness, he said: “The marshalling system not functioning and cars at the back defending in the Lewis and Kimi fight…
“It’s disgraceful from some of the Teletubbies engineers that sit on the pit walls of these teams not telling their drivers what’s happening behind.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Jürgen Klopp begins new era as Germany manager with mission to restore national pride
SportJustSport writers