Max surprises with second place at the Hungaroring: 'I didn't expect it'

Published on 26 July 2026 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen secured a surprise second-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix. For much of the race, the Dutchman appeared to be just out of reach of a podium finish, but a bold strategic call by Oracle Red Bull Racing to keep him out during a safety car period proved decisive, and ultimately paid off in the closing stages of the race. Lando Norris drove a confident race to take victory, while Kimi Antonelli, who started seventh, crossed the line in third. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completed the top five in the final race before the Formula 1 summer break.

“I didn’t expect to be on the podium today, but we worked hard for it,” Max explained after the race. “I think the start was decent — you know, to get through turn one and two — then after the first stop, to get back ahead of Lewis under breaking into turn one. And then trying to survive on the compounds, trying to make the right calls with the strategy, as well. Yeah, (I’m) very happy to be second here.”

The Red Bull-driver didn’t have the easiest go of it during the race: “It was one of the hardest races of the year, in terms of how I felt in the car. For 80% of the race… it wasn't enjoyable. the balance of the car was undriveable. The car was difficult to control. It had too much oversteer and was difficult to control in the hobbles. At the start already something wasn’t right. When I got out of the car there was a hole in the bodywork. Those kinds of things definitely don’t help.”

After the first pit stop, Ferrari successfully executed an undercut and Hamilton got ahead of Max. However, Max responded quickly and reclaimed his position with an impressive overtaking maneuvre. “I saw the opportunity as my only one, so I went for it. We’re good on the breaks so that helped. I was all under control.”

In the closing phases Max stayed out on the soft tyres, a move that proved decisive. “We had no other choice. If I went in, then I would’ve been behind the grid and behind Lewis. Then you’re done. We had to stay out and hope the tyres would hang on.” In spite of the great finish, Max stays realistic. “We have enough things we need to have a hard look at. I can’t say we’re there yet, because that’s not how it feels at all.”

It’s warmer on the Hungaroring than it has been in the past couple of days: with air temperatures reaching 32°C and track temperatures climbing to 55°C. Max starts from fourth place, despite qualifying sixth — he benefited from two grid penalties handed to rivals Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli. For the first time this season there is no Mercedes on pole position; the baton is passed momentarily to title defender Lando Norris, with Charles Leclerc next to him in second place.

Max executes an excellent getaway and sails to third place. Hamilton, starting fifth on soft tyres, has a strong opening phase and is immediately in the Dutchman’s mirrors. The two make contact as they go wheel-to-wheel, but both emerge from the incident unscathed. At the front of the grid, Oscar Piastri overtakes his teammate to take the lead of the race. Of the leading cars, George Russell is the loser — his Mercedes goes into anti-stall, and he drops down to 20th place.

After a couple of laps, Max reports that the car’s suspension damping is lost and complains about gearshift issues. Unable to keep up with the McLaren’s, Max starts to lose ground and the Ferrari’s start closing in. Hamilton was the first among the leading contenders to pit. A lap later Max heads in as well, but Ferrari’s gamble paid off — Max rejoins the grid behind Hamilton. Hamilton’s advantage is, however, short-lived; in turn 1 Max surprises the Brit with a daring overtake. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas maneuvers a smoking Cadillac into the pits, while Norris has a slow pit stop and is once again in his teammate’s rearview mirrors. After the top of the grid have made their pitstops, the race order is as follows: Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc.

Piastri is the first of the McLarens to head in for his second stop, followed a couple of laps later by his teammate. The Australian has a stroke of bad luck and gets held up by the race’s back markers, who don’t heed the blue flags, and Norris rejoins the grid ahead of Piastri. Piastri’s frustration mounts after making contact with Carlos Sainz, who gets served a five-second penalty.

Max switches to the soft tyre, but quickly complains after one lap that he doesn’t like the tyre. At this stage of the race, the Dutchman is cruising in fifth place, behind Hamilton and ahead of Leclerc. A duel between defending champion Norris and leading champion Antonelli breaks out. Antonelli is the only driver of the top contenders who hasn’t pitted yet, and Norris is lighting fast. Antonelli manages to defend against the Papaya driver’s first move, but a lap later Norris overtakes the Italian and immediately takes off into the distance.

Sergio Pérez becames the  race’s second retirement. His suspension failed, but the driver still manages to drag the ailing care home. Max, who earlier broadcasted his displeasure with the soft tyres, has in the meantime made significant gains on Hamilton. In lap 54, Mercedes decides a one-stop strategy isn’t feasible for Antonelli after all and call him in. He returns to the race behind Leclerc in sixth place. Suddenly disaster strikes for Piastri: his gearbox fails, forcing him to retire from the race. The resulting virtual safety car hands Norris, Hamilton, and Leclerc a free pit stop. As he exits the pit lane, Hamilton comes out just behind Antonelli. The Brit initially overtakes him before the pit exit line but immediately gives the position back.

Max’s garage, however, elect not to pit him. He advances to second place, behind Norris, hanging on on an old set of tyres. Antonelli starts to make significant gains on Max, but Hamilton in turn brings the fight to the Italian. The two lose precious time navigating the back markers, placing Max just out of their reach. Adding insult to injury, Hamilton gets served a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Unexpectedly, Max crosses the finish line in second place. Unchallenged, Norris sailed to victory with a gap of 15 seconds to the rest of the grid. Antonelli held on to complete the podium, ahead of Charles Leclerc in fourth place. Hamilton finishes fifth.

Results Grand Prix Hungary: