Norris cashes in on Piastri collision to claim victory at Hungarian Grand Prix

Luke SlaterSun, July 26, 2026 at 3:11 PM UTC

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Lando Norris celebrates his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix - Kym Illman/Getty Images

Lando Norris cashed in on Oscar Piastri’s bizarre collision with a backmarker to win the Hungarian Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton lost further ground to Kimi Antonelli in his bid for a record eighth world championship.

Norris surrendered the lead to Piastri following a sloppy start from pole position, but he took advantage of his McLaren team-mate tangling with Carlos Sainz – as he attempted to put a lap on the Williams driver midway through the race – to land the first victory of his title defence.

Piastri ran off the road after his front-right tyre made contact with the rear-left of Sainz’s Williams, losing him up to two seconds.

Norris immediately stopped for tyres and emerged in the net lead. Norris then passed Antonelli on lap 46 before cantering to the chequered flag.

Max Verstappen finished second, with Antonelli a place back in third, allowing the Italian teenager to increase his title advantage over Hamilton from 45 points to 50.

Hamilton, who will surely be left questioning Ferrari’s strategy after he stopped for tyres one more time than Verstappen and championship rival Antonelli, finished fourth but a five-second penalty for pit-lane speeding demoted him to fifth behind team-mate Charles Leclerc on an afternoon which promised so much more.

George Russell recovered from a nightmare start to finish seventh, but he is now 59 points off the championship pace.

More to follow...

03:58pm

The next race... is the Dutch Grand Prix

That comes in a few weeks, after the summer break. Here are the session times for that:

Friday, August 21FP1 – 11.30am BSTSprint qualifying – 3.30pm

Saturday, August 22Sprint race – 11amQualifying – 3pm

Sunday, August 23Race – 2pm

03:57pm

Antonelli on a hard day but a podium

“It was a tough race, it was really hard to overtake so we had to do something with strategy. Initially we tried to go for the one stop but then they told the tyre was too much on the limit. With the virtual safety car the two Ferraris boxed and I knew it would be very hard. Luckily we managed to keep them behind.

“Of course I am very happy and it’s the best way to go into the summer break. Today was damage limitation. We’ve got to keep pushing because the second half is going to be hard but we’ll try our best.”

03:56pm

Verstappen on his podium and the Hamilton overtake

“I didn’t expect to eb on the podium today, but we worked hard for it. Very happy considering, to be second here. I saw the opportunity [to overtake Hamilton] as my only one and just went for it. We were good on the brakes so that help. It was all under control.”

03:53pm

Let’s hear from the drivers...

Lando Norris on his win:

“I am tired... what happened? I don’t know what happened to be honest, I just kept losing the rear. It felt horrible and of course Oscar did a great job. I was pushing like hell to force him into a mistake. My pace today was probably the best pace that I have ever had. The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident. The pace was so good I could always extend the stint and fresh tyres won me the race. Happy to be back and see the No 1 again.”

“I want to believe so. I certainly want to believe we can continue it. There are going to be moments where we are going to struggle more... this is maybe as good as it can look for now, I certainly believe that we can still win races. The team have put so much work into a car that can finally win again.”

03:51pm

Antonelli extends his championship lead

60 points over Hamilton and now 69 over Russell if I am correct.

03:46pm

Verstappen is happy after that

“How we got second today is f---- unbelievable,” Verstappen says.

03:45pm

⏱️Hungarian GP - Classification -

NOR 25pts

VER  18pts

ANT 15pts

LEC 12pts

HAM 10pts

HAD 8pts

RUS 6pts

LAW 4pts

HUL 2pts

LIN 1pt

03:44pm

🏁LANDO NORRIS WINS THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX!

A first grand prix win this year and McLaren’s too. Verstappen second, Antonelli third, Leclerc fourth and Hamilton fifth, not sixth, after his penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

03:42pm

Norris just needs to keep going.

03:41pm

Lap 69 of 70 - Hamilton is told of his penalty

“Ay, handing penalties out like crazy!” he responds...

As it stands Hamilton is falling down to sixth behind Leclerc after his penalty is applied.

03:40pm

Lap 68 of 70 - Championship picture

Well, Antonelli will be extending his lead, somehow... over both Hamilton and Russell. A missed opportunity for Hamilton this weekend.

03:38pm

Lap 67 of 70 - Norris leads Verstappen by 12.9sec

Norris told to avoid the exit kerbs as they are worried that going over them caused Piastri’s problem.

03:37pm

Lap 66 of 70 - ❗Five-second penalty for Hamilton

Sums up a scruffy weekend for him. Has had some decent pace, perhaps not enough, but even if he does pass Antonelli I am not sure he can get the five seconds ahead. Hamilton, though, is just five seconds ahead of team-mate Leclerc...

03:36pm

Lap 65 of 70 - Norris cruising to victory here

A deserved one. Verstappen helped by Antonelli being blighted by backmarkers. Still Hamilton is behind...

03:35pm

Lap 64 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps -

VER +11.4

ANT +18.0

HAM +18.5

LEC +22.9

HAD +46.9

RUS +55.0

LAW +1l

HUL +1l

LIN +1l

03:34pm

Lap 63 of 70 - Hamilton chasing Antonelli

He has to go through some backmarkers on his way but looks quicker. Well, he is quicker. Can he get ahead and then extend his lead to negate a penalty?

This Audi is getting RIGHT in the way. Oblivious. It was Bortoleto.

03:32pm

Lap 62 of 70 - A battle between the Racing Bulls

Hulkenberg is in there too in the battle for eighth. Lindblad is on 40-lap old hard tyres whilst Lawson and Hulkenberg are on 18-20 lap old softs.

03:30pm

Lap 61 of 70 - Worries for Norris?

He wants the team to keep an eye on the tyre pressures after going through debris.

⁉️Hamilton has been noted for speeding in the pit lane... another penalty incoming?

03:29pm

Lap 60 of 70 - Ferrari have been fast on the softs

Verstappen might need to cling on here. Hamilton has a big moment trying to get closer to Antonelli at turns two and three. Got on the power too early and nearly lost the rear end totally at turn two.

03:28pm

Lap 59 of 70 - Hamilton is told to give the position back

Here is the new order:

VER +5.9

ANT +15.2

HAM +15.8

LEC +23.8

HAD +40.2

RUS +52.9

LIN +77.0

BOR +79.3

LAW +80.2

Norris has a tyre advantage over Verstappen and Antonelli. Hamilton and Leclerc have one over Amtonelli, on the hards, and Verstappen who is on 17-lap old hard tyres. Antonelli was 1.2sec faster than Verstappen on the last tour. That could be a fun battle at the end.

03:25pm

Lap 57 of 70 - How will this play out?

Norris leads Verstappen and then Hamilton and Antonelli are in close quarters. Hamilton on soft tyresafter stopping but Antonelli on the old hards...

But did Hamilton take the position legally as he came out of the pit lane under VSC? Antonelli thinks he was ahead and I think he may be correct. Penalty incoming?

03:23pm

Lap 56 of 70 - Piastri is out!

Antonelli told to target second. He has 14 seconds to make up to get o Piastri and Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton to pass to get there too. He was, though two seconds a lap faster than Piastri.

But what is this? Piastri is slowing down and pulls to the side of the track. A frustrating afternoon ends. He says he lost the gearbox.

🟨Yellow flags and then a VSC. Who stops?

Norris does.

03:21pm

Lap 55 of 70 - Backmarker trouble for Norris

Bortoleto is lapped, getting out of the way eventually at the start of the lap. Why didn’t he just dive out of the way on the pit straight? Some poor behaviour by those cars beind lapped today.

Norris leads Piastri by 12.4sec with Hamilton in third, 1.8sec behind Piastri.

03:20pm

Lap 53 of 70 - Antonelli brought in

The one-stop strategy is abandoned and he is told the soft tyre will not get him to the end, so it’s hard tyres again.

Norris is essentially told to stroke it home.

Antonelli comes out in sixth ahead of Russell by 15sec and behind Leclerc by five seconds.

03:19pm

Lap 52 of 70 - Hamilton closing on Piastri

0.5sec faster than him the last time around. Antonelli is dropping well back from Norris. A second a lap or so.

Norris has undoubtedly been the fastest car today. Nobody has been able to live with him today. Once he got in clean air he showed his class and underlying pace.

Jordan McKean /Getty Images

03:16pm

Lap 51 of 70 - Perez has a problem

A race-ending one. Looks like some kind of front suspension failure. Front-left. He crawls around the rest of the track and into the pit lane. No need for a VSC or full SC.

03:15pm

Lap 50 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps -

ANT +6.1

PIA +10.4

HAM +13.1

VER +17.6

LEC +22.1

RUS +40.1

HAD +51.2

LIN +72.3

BOR +76.0

Lawson in 11th the last car on the lead lap.

03:13pm

Lap 48 of 70 - Norris leads Antonelli by 4.1sec

Piastri is a further 4.5sec behind, Hamilton a further three seconds and Verstappen 5.8sec. The pack was bunched earlier in the race but has spread out now on the hard tyres.

Antonelli reminded about track limits. A regular theme this year.

03:11pm

Lap 47 of 70 - Not a good day for Ferrari

It wasn’t last year here after taking pole, either. Leclerc’s race pace disappeared as the grand prix went on. That has kind of happened today though less dramatically.

03:10pm

Lap 46 of 70 - Norris takes the lead!

He has to work for it but eventually gets the move done on Antonelli by turn three. The question now is likely to be where the top three in the championship end up: Antonelli, who may or may not stop again, Hamilton and Russell.

Either way, it does not look like Hamilton is going to be eating significantly into Antonelli’s championship lead. Maybe a few points at best the way it looks.

03:07pm

Lap 45 of 70 - ❗Penalty for Sainz

Five seconds, which seems a little lenient to me. Not sure it really matters given how poor Williams have been this weekend.

03:06pm

Lap 43 of 70 - Antonelli leads Norris

Norris is 1.7sec quicker per lap at the moment, though. Verstappen, by the way, is on the soft tyres. Can they last? His team think they can. He is 7.7sec behind Hamilton and in fifth.

The race isn’t Norris’s yet but it looks quite likely at this point. Aside from losing the lead at the start he has driven superbly this weekend.

03:04pm

Lap 42 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps

Antonelli has stopped once. His rivals below him down to Hadjar have stopped twice each.

NOR +3.3

PIA +8.3

HAM +10.7

VER +18.9

LEC +19.7

HAD +31.0

RUS +33.7

LAW +53.7

LIN +57.6

03:03pm

Lap 41 of 70 - Piastri is peed off

“Oh mate. It’s better that you don’t f---- talk to me now,” he says to his team on the radio. Replays show Alonso nearly tangling with Hamilton when being lapped.

Unsurprisingly Sainz is being investigated for that collision with Piastri.

03:01pm

Lap 40 of 70 - Norris pits

He comes out ahead of Piastri after the Australian’s woes after tangling with Sainz. Is that the race? It’s certainly Piastri’s race done. Norris has a six-lap tyre advantage on the hards.

02:59pm

Lap 38 of 70 - 💥Piastri and Sainz collide!

Piastri does come from along way back but Sainz is battling with a car ahead and side swipes across on Piastri at turn three. That is bizarre. What was Sainz doing? That has cost Piastri a bag of time. Was there a problem with the blue-flag system?

02:57pm

Lap 37 of 70 - You worry about Ferrari here

Both drivers have stopped twice, cycling through a set of soft and hard tyres at just over half race distance. The hard tyres have not worked out for them for whatever reason. Might have been a different story had Hamilton been ahead of Verstappen.

02:55pm

Lap 36 of 70 - Leclerc is slooooow

“Am I going to be in trouble at the end of this race,” Hamilton asks. They will fight for position with Verstappen and then will manage the tyres.

Antonelli is all over the back of Leclerc in the battle for third here. Leclerc’s last lap was 1.7sec slower than leader Norris’s... this is hurting Antonelli. But not for any longer... in comes Leclerc.

02:53pm

Lap 35 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps at half-way -

VER +4.1

LEC +9.7

ANT +10.4

PIA +20.9

HAM +23.8

HAD +29.3

RUS +29.2

LAW +39.7

LIN +57.7

02:51pm

Lap 33 of 70 - In comes Piastri

A fascinating race strategically, this one. I am not sure I can work out who is going to come out on top yet.

Norris inherits the lead and can push, push, push.

Four different cars in the top four now:  McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes.

02:50pm

Lap 33 of 70 - Hamilton making progress

Hamilton goes up the inside of Hadjar heading into turn one and is now into sixth. Norris wants to take a contrary strategy, I think, but is told not.

“You mean you won’t let me,” he says. “I’m miles faster!”

Will this cost them in the long run? Norris worried about losing out to Verstappen.

02:48pm

Lap 31 of 70 - Piastri not happy with the hard tyre

Struggling with consistency and is unable to push as Norris closes in to 0.6sec behind.

Russell the fastest man on the track and by some margin. 1.8sec faster than leader Piastri on the last tour.

02:45pm

Lap 30 of 70 - Plenty of action so far

We are not even at half distance. Hamilton has slipped to three seconds behind Verstappen and has Leclerc for close company.

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Hamilton comes in for his second stop... still 40 laps to go... he has been struggling with the balance, it appears. More understeery than oversteery.

He comes out behind Isack Hadjar and in seventh.

02:44pm

Lap 29 of 70 - Russell pits

He comes out in ninth ahead of Liam Lawson. A day of damage limitation for him.

LAT Images/Alastair Staley

Norris does not help himself, running wide at turn four. Frustration building and that costs him the best part of a second.

02:41pm

Lap 27 of 70 - Leclerc on the radio

“We are losing quite a bit of time,” he says. In other words: I am faster than Hamilton, just to let you know. He has a three-lap tyre advantage over his team-mate and is almost within a second.

02:40pm

Lap 26 of 70 - Antonelli showing good pace

He is in sixth and 4.5sec behind Leclerc and 12.5sec behind leader Piastri. He was half a second faster than the McLarens on the last lap.

I can’t see Hamilton winning this from here now, unless something fortunate happens for him.

02:39pm

Lap 25 of 70 - Norris looks the faster man

McLaren’s best hope of winning this race is if Norris gets ahead. That will have to happen through natural rather than engineered means, you suspect.

Andy Hone/LAT Images

02:37pm

Lap 24 of 70 - Verstappen leaving Hamilton behind

1.8sec the gap between the pair now. Leclerc more of a concern behind for the seven-time champion at the moment.

02:36pm

Lap 23 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps -

NOR +0.8

VER +4.4

HAM +6.0

LEC +7.4

ANT +13.9

RUS +19.4

HAD +27.5

BOR +35.5

ALO +42.5

We have an Aston Martin in the points...

02:35pm

Lap 22 of 70 - Norris runs wide

Nothing too dramatic but it means he loses around half a second at the start of the lap.

Antonelli is called into the pit lane and will switch to the hard tyres. Piastri will regain the race lead.

02:34pm

Lap 21 of 70 - Norris finds pace

He posted the fastest ;ap and is now within 0.6sec of team-mate Piastri. These two have history at this track...

Might they come to blows? McLaren will not want to throw away a victory chance with that, but Norris might be their best hope of winning. And squabbling will not help, either.

02:32pm

Lap 20 of 70 - Antonelli leads

He looks to be targeting a one-stop race. The gap to Piastri behind in second is 12.4sec and he is 0.8sec slower per lap at the moment.

Russell will probably be trying to do something similar. He is eighth and is trying to overtake Liam Lawson.

Piastri is told that he needs strong pace to deny Antonelli.

02:30pm

Lap 19 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps

Hadjar acting as a blocker for the McLarens. Well, he was. Instead Norris gets by at turn one and then Piastri goes around the outside at turn two before Hadjar moves to the side to let Verstappen through. Hadjar will now drive the widest car in the middle sector to hold Hamilton behind but again Hamilton goes around the outside!

What a race this is turning into.

02:29pm

Lap 18 of 70 - It is very close up front

Of the cars that have stopped, anyway. Piastri and Norris are very close and then Verstappen is not too far behind with Hamilton on his rear wing too.

Antonelli leads Hadjar, but those two have yet to stop.

02:28pm

Lap 17 of 70 - Verstappen unhappy with Hamilton

“I don’t want to complain but that was again moving under braking,” he says. It might have been but I am just not sure he expected him to be there. The Racing Bulls car was between the two at the start of the pit straight, which shielded Hamilton’s view most likely.

02:26pm

Lap 16 of 70 - Verstappen now ahead of Hamilton

Verstappen gets Hamilton at turn one! From way down town! I think that caught Hamilton by surprise and possibly off-guard.

Yellows in the pit lane but Piastri pits from the lead.

02:25pm

Lap 15 of 70 - Hamilton gets Verstappen

2.5sec from Verstappen. Does he get out ahead? It’s close but no! Hamilton just gets there.

❌Bottas is told to retire the car with a brake issue. A fire on the front-left brake but will he be able to make it into the pit lane? He’s into it but cannot quite make it to his garage. Will they close the pit lane here?

02:23pm

Lap 14 of 70 - Verstappen vs Hamilton

Hamilton around the outside of Lindblad at turn five. Much more grip and it works out for him. Nicely done.

In comes Verstappen...

02:23pm

Lap 13 of 70 - This is not working out for Hamilton

He comes into the pit lane. It’s a 2.6sec stop and he goes to medium tyres but he comes out into traffic behind Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson and in ninth.

What does Verstappen do here? And can Hamilton make his way through these two Racing Bulls?

02:20pm

Lap 12 of 70 - Antonelli has dropped back

He is now 1.7sec behind Leclerc. Hamilton wants to know if they can do an early stop to help his hopes. He is only 4.7sec behind the leader, so is very much in this race.

Norris now 1.1sec only behind his team-mate. Russell gets Gasly for 11th.

Verstappen claims a lot of rear degradation. He is now 2.9sec behind Norris.

02:18pm

Lap 11 of 70 - Norris thinks he’s faster

Is he? Hard to tell when he is in dirty air. Hamilton is certainly faster than Verstappen but hasn’t even tried a move yet, as close as he has been.

02:17pm

Lap 10 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps -

NOR +1.5

VER +4.0

HAM +4.6

LEC +5.5

ANT +7.0

HAD +12.0

LAW +16.4

LIN +19.9

HUL +21.1

02:15pm

Lap 8 of 70 - Verstappen falling back

He is now 1.8sec behind Norris. Not enormous. Verstappen is taking a different line to Hamilton, who is closer than ever going into the middle part of the lap. Leclerc has fallen back a little, which suggests Hamilton’s pace is good.

Russell into 12th, by the way.

02:14pm

Lap 7 of 70 - Piastri extends his lead

1.6sec now over Norris. Hamilton is not going away from Verstappen. Is he getting frustrated?

02:12pm

Lap 6 of 70 - Piastri leads Norris by one second

Hamilton is just stuck behind Verstappen, really. The benefit of the soft tyres will soon be leaving the Ferrari cars. Antonelli in sixth behind Leclerc and closing up on this battle, too.

02:09pm

Lap 4 of 70 - Hamilton needs to get this done soon

Not an easy track to overtake, though.

⁉️ Bearman was noted for forcing another driver off track but no further action is required.

Hamilton just doesn’t look to be able to get close enough on the pit straight to get the move done. Piastri almost breaking the one-second barrier ahead of his team-mate.

02:07pm

Lap 3 of 70 - Hamilton all over the back of Verstappen

Piastri leads Norris by one second with Verstappen a further second behind. This battle is helping Leclerc close up to Hamilton.

Here is the top 10:

Russell up to 17th.

02:06pm

Lap 2 of 70 - Russell hit by anti-stall it seems

A long race ahead of him today.

Hamilton is quick and is desperately trying to get past Verstappen for third place. It is crucial for his strategy. Hamilton and Verstappen may have touched on lap one.

Hamilton sets the fastest lap and challenges Verstappen...

02:05pm

THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX IS GO!

It’s a good start for the McLarens as Leclerc gets bogged down and it’s soon a McLaren 1-2... Ferrari are then up into three and four but with a battle with Verstappen too... Leclerc is down to fifth and Verstappen in third.

Piastri, though, takes the lead from Norris! Around the inside after selling Norris a dummy!

Russell is down in 20th after a terrible start...

02:01pm

The formation lap is go

Leclerc gets away slowly, losing a place to Piastri but he gets it back, as he is allowed to do. Leclerc on used softs, by the way, Hamilton on fresh ones.

01:57pm

We are nearly ready to go

Starting tyre types in the top 10: Everyone on mediums apart from Leclerc in second and Hamilton in fifth. Ferrari saved an extra set of softs in qualifying by getting through to Q2 on the mediums. Smart? It may work for them here in the first stint.

01:54pm

Hungarian GP starting grid

1. NOR 2. LEC 3. PIA 4. VER 5. HAM 6. RUS 7. ANT 8. HAD 9. LIN 10. HUL 11. LAW 12. GAS 13. COL 14. BOR 15. OCO 16. ALO 17. BEA 18. SAI 19. ALB 20. STR 21. BOT

PIT LANE: PER

01:50pm

Risk of rain?

According to the FIA it is 20 per cent. Not nothing.

01:48pm

Championship standings

Given the state of play on the grid, this could be rejigged a little by this evening. But only really in the points gaps rather than positions. There is the chance for Hamilton to make up some ground on Antonelli and Russell, but will need a strong afternoon to do so. He will surely be motivated.

01:41pm

Driver qualifying head-to-heads at the half-way point

Some close battles there, but others not so much. A few drivers, though, ended a run of being out-qualified yesterday. Ocon beat Bearman for the first time since Monaco. And Hulkenberg beat Bortoleto for the first time since Barcelona.

01:39pm

Perez will start from the pit lane

This is owing to “pre-race setup changes”. He was last on the grid anyway, to be fair.

01:35pm

One giant leap for Aston Martin

It’s fair to say that Aston Martin have taken a significant jump with their upgraded car this weekend. Looking at qualifying pace only, this is the first time they have made it into Q2 (they were in SQ2 once), and their second best “raw pace rating” of the season.

Bernadett Szabo/Reuters

Here are how they rate in percentage terms across qualifying in 2026, relative to the fastest lap of the weekend. A lower number is better.

Season average before Hungary: 104.540%Average in Spa: 105.405%Best previous race: 103.410% (China)In Hungary: 103.369%

So, more than two percentage points better than the last race and more than 1.1 percentage points improved on their season average. In real terms that is nearly 0.9sec over an 80-second lap.

This track does not expose their power deficiency as much as others, but you would expect another step forward with the engine upgrades from Honda arriving in the coming races. Still not where they want to be, mind but at least they can start looking forwards.

01:28pm

Weather and conditions update

It is significantly hotter than it has been all weekend. The air temperature is hovering around 30 degrees and the track temperature is up to 51.5C. It is, however, probably the windiest day of the lot.

There is a crosswind on the pit straight, which becomes a tail wind after turn one. It’s swirling around a little bit. I predict a tricky race, especially with the bumps and imperfect track conditions once these cars are fully loaded.

01:17pm

Raw pace ranking at the half-way point

OK. Well, it was the half-way point before they re-introduced Bahrain.

This is how the teams are shaping up in qualifying compared to one another. Mercedes lose their perfect rating of 100.000 per cent because yesterday was the first time they were not the fastest team and did not take pole. In fact, they were the third fastest team.

01:09pm

Hamilton impedes Piasti in Q3

Not sure he was ever going to get away with this one. He said his team did not tell him Piastri was starting a flying lap until it was too late but I think he has some culpability as he passed Piastri towards the end of his own flying lap. I know he would have been focused on that, but it’s not he would have been oblivious to the car. Drivers are always moaning about those on out laps getting in the way. It’s not like they don’t see them.

01:04pm

Times from qualifying

A reminder, though, that Hamilton and Antonelli both took three-place grid penalties for the race for impeding and not slowing sufficiently under yellow flags respectively.

12:58pm

Good afternoon

Welcome to our live coverage for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix from the Hungaroring. This is the 40th anniversary of the race at this track and the 41st edition. I think over the years this track has had a bit of an unfair reputation but we have certainly had some interesting and exciting races over the years. Even over the last few years.

The nature of the track means it is a bit of an outlier. And that means you often get results that go away from the norm of the season. Mercedes took a couple of poles here in the ground-effect era whilst Charles Leclerc did so last year. We have had a handful of first-time winners at this track, too: Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Jenson Button and… errr Heikki Kovalainen.

So far that has been true this weekend. Although McLaren and Ferrari have been closing in on Mercedes, the SIlver Arrows have usually had the edge or found it when it comes to qualifying. That was not the case yesterday: Lando Norris took the first non-Mercedes grand prix pole of the season, pipping the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012sec.

Hamilton, though, takes a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri in Q3. Kimi Antonelli, who had qualified fourth, takes the same penalty for not slowing sufficiently under yellow flags. It was Ferrari who had been expected to be the team to beat but they were the team that dropped the ball. In fairness Norris, in the upgraded McLaren had looked competitive throughout qualifying and was simply able to deliver when Ferrari could not.

The grid is slightly mixed up because of the penalties. George Russell’s season did not get any easier after qualifying seventh but he at least moves up because of those grid drops. The Mercedes’ race pace is expected to be strong but will it be enough to put them into contention with the McLarens and the Ferraris? And let’s not forget Max Verstappen in fourth, either…

We find out at 2pm BST, when the race gets under way.

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