Lando Norris claimed victory at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen finished second, while Kimi Antonelli completed the podium after an impressive alternative strategy.
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The race got underway with both Ferraris the only cars on the grid starting on the soft compound. Piastri made a sensational launch from the start, sweeping into the lead ahead of Norris and Verstappen. Behind them, Charles Leclerc slipped back to fifth after Lewis Hamilton overtook his Ferrari teammate, while George Russell suffered a technical problem that dropped him to 18th. Antonelli emerged from the opening lap in sixth place.
During the opening stint, Hamilton relentlessly pressured Verstappen in the battle for third, but the Dutchman managed to keep him behind. Meanwhile, the McLaren duo steadily pulled away from the rest of the field.
The pit-stop phase began at the end of lap 13 when Hamilton dived into the pits for hard tires. Verstappen responded a lap later, but Hamilton’s earlier stop initially gave him the advantage through the undercut. However, on lap 16, Verstappen reclaimed third place while both drivers were delayed attempting to lap Liam Lawson.
Piastri and Leclerc made their pit stops on lap 17, with Norris completing his stop at the end of the same lap. By lap 20, Antonelli inherited the lead, having yet to make his first stop, ahead of Piastri, Norris, Verstappen and Hamilton. Leclerc remained within striking distance despite losing ground earlier in the race.
Antonelli finally pitted on lap 22, rejoining in sixth position. From lap 23 onwards, Norris steadily reduced the gap to teammate Piastri, setting up an intense battle for the race lead.
Hamilton was the first of the front-runners to make his second stop on lap 30. Three laps later, Piastri pitted from the lead, handing first place to Norris. By lap 46, Norris was back at the front ahead of Antonelli, whose alternative strategy kept him in contention.
Antonelli’s final pit stop came on lap 54, dropping him to sixth before he launched an aggressive charge through the field.
The decisive moment of the race arrived on lap 56 when Piastri suddenly slowed and parked his McLaren with a gearbox failure, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Both Ferraris immediately took advantage of the neutralisation to make their final pit stops. Racing resumed one lap later.
The closing stages featured an intense fight between Hamilton and Antonelli for third place. Although Hamilton was handed a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, promoting Antonelli onto the podium.
After 70 laps, Norris secured a commanding victory at the Hungaroring ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli. Leclerc inherited fourth place, while Hamilton was classified fifth following his penalty. Isack Hadjar finished an impressive sixth, with Russell recovering from his early technical issue to seventh. Lawson, Hülkenberg and Lindblad rounded out the top ten.
The full results of the race according to FIA.com:
