Mogyoród, Hungary – In a nail-biting final qualifying session for the 2026 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday, defending champion Lando Norris pulled off a last-gasp upset, edging Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by a razor-thin 0.012 seconds to claim his first pole position of the 2026 season. Hamilton, the eight-time Hungarian Grand Prix winner, was on track to secure the 105th pole position of his career — a record that would extend his existing all-time mark — and his first pole in a full grand prix event since the 2023 Hungarian round, before Norris’ blistering final lap stole the top spot on the starting grid.
“It’s been a while,” Norris told reporters after the session. “I felt confident all weekend.” The McLaren driver noted he still had untapped speed left after his pole-winning lap, pointing to small errors he could have corrected with an extra run. “I had the confidence to push more,” he explained. “I got it to unexplored territory from what happens to the balance when I push it that next level, and I lost a bit of time in a couple of places.”
Recent upgrades to McLaren’s car have left Norris optimistic heading into Sunday’s 70-lap main race, even as he cautioned against underestimating the challenge ahead. “It’s a long race ahead tomorrow and it’s going to be a difficult one,” he said.
This pole marks the 17th full qualifying pole of Norris’ Formula 1 career, tying him with British motorsport legend and three-time world champion Jackie Stewart. The Briton’s last pole at the full Las Vegas Grand Prix in November ended in bitter disappointment: he lost the race lead to championship contender Max Verstappen, before he and teammate Oscar Piastri were both disqualified over a technical team setup infringement. Norris’ last full grand prix victory came one round earlier in Sao Paulo, though he has notched one win this 2026 season at the Miami sprint race.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari secured third place on the grid, 0.238 seconds off Norris’ leading pace. Hamilton currently faces a pending grid penalty investigation over allegations he impeded Piastri during qualifying, which would move Leclerc up to second on the starting grid if the penalty is issued.
Piastri, who qualified fifth after taking evasive action to avoid Hamilton’s slow-moving car at the first corner, was openly critical of the seven-time world champion. When asked about his biggest issue during the session, the Australian driver bluntly stated: “Lewis not looking in his mirrors.”
Hamilton pushed back on the criticism, saying he had no advance warning Piastri was approaching. “I was told literally when he was at the apex behind me, so I had no idea … I thought everyone had finished their lap,” Hamilton said. “Crazy because (the session) had been clean and obviously it wasn’t intentional.”
For Hamilton, the near-miss for pole comes as a bitter disappointment, coming off one of his strongest qualifying performances since he moved to Ferrari last year. “We clearly had the car to be on pole today and I just didn’t deliver so that’s tough to swallow,” he said.
It was a rough day for Mercedes across the board. Current championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, after he appeared to be held up when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spun out ahead of his flying lap. Antonelli’s teammate George Russell qualified seventh, and the team faces urgent repair work after Russell’s car broke down on track while he was returning to the pits. Piastri of McLaren rounded out the top five qualifying spots.