Norris Triumphs to Hand McLaren First Victory of the Season

Formula One champion Lando Norris delivered McLaren’s first victory of the 2026 season with a dominant win from pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. The British driver secured his 12th career trophy by finishing 15.080 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, capitalizing after teammate Oscar Piastri—who had led early on—lost time in a clash with backmarker Carlos Sainz before ultimately retiring due to a gearbox failure. Piastri’s exit paved the way for Mercedes’ 19-year-old rising star Kimi Antonelli to claim third place, extending his drivers’ championship lead to 50 points. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton dropped from fourth on the track to fifth following a post-race pitlane speeding penalty, allowing teammate Charles Leclerc to inherit fourth as Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar finished sixth. Recovering impressively from a dismal start that saw him fall to 19th, Mercedes’ George Russell fought back to finish seventh, while Liam Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg, and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the points-paying top ten in eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively. As Formula One heads into its August summer break following this 11th round of the season, Mercedes continues to lead the constructors’ standings over Ferrari by 72 points.