Welcome to our dwell protection for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix from the Hungaroring. That is the fortieth anniversary of the race at this monitor and the forty first version. I feel over time this monitor has had a little bit of an unfair popularity however we have now definitely had some fascinating and thrilling races over time. Even over the previous few years.
The character of the monitor means it’s a little bit of an outlier. And which means you typically get outcomes that go away from the norm of the season. Mercedes took a few poles right here within the ground-effect period while Charles Leclerc did so final yr. We have now had a handful of first-time winners at this monitor, too: Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Jenson Button and… errr Heikki Kovalainen.
Thus far that has been true this weekend. Though McLaren and Ferrari have been closing in on Mercedes, the SIlver Arrows have often had the sting or discovered it in terms of qualifying. That was not the case yesterday: Lando Norris took the primary non-Mercedes grand prix pole of the season, pipping the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton by simply 0.012sec.
Hamilton, although, takes a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri in Q3. Kimi Antonelli, who had certified fourth, takes the identical penalty for not slowing sufficiently beneath yellow flags. It was Ferrari who had been anticipated to be the staff to beat however they have been the staff that dropped the ball. In equity Norris, within the upgraded McLaren had seemed aggressive all through qualifying and was merely in a position to ship when Ferrari couldn’t.
The grid is barely combined up due to the penalties. George Russell’s season didn’t get any simpler after qualifying seventh however he at the very least strikes up due to these grid drops. The Mercedes’ race tempo is predicted to be robust however will it’s sufficient to place them into competition with the McLarens and the Ferraris? And let’s not neglect Max Verstappen in fourth, both…
We discover out at 2pm BST, when the race will get beneath manner.
