Here’s Giles Richards’ race report from Hungaroring.

Lando Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix with an assured drive for McLaren at the Hungaroring, his and the team’s first of the year. His run was a commanding performance once he was in front but behind him the there was no little drama and incident as Max Verstappen claimed second for Red Bull and Kimi Antonelli put in very strong comeback drive to take third from seventh on the gird, while Lewis Hamilton battled fiercely for all 70 laps and took a five-second penalty to finish fifth.

Kimi Antonelli speaks: “It was a tough race. Um, you know, it was very hard to overtake, so we had to do something with strategy. And initially, we tried to go for the one stop. I tried to go for one stop, but then they told me that the tire was too much limit, so we stopped.

“I think today was big damage limitation, and we’re gonna keep pushing because, uh, you know, second half is gonna be hard, but we try our best.”

Max Verstappen speaks: “I didn’t expect to be on the podium today, but yeah, we worked hard for it…. I saw the opportunity as my only one, and, uh, yeah, I just went for it. We’re good on the brakes, so that helped, but I was, yeah, it was all under control.”

Lando Norris speaks: “I don’t know what happened, to be honest. I just kept losing the rear. Felt horrible, and then, of course, Oscar did a good job to get a cut back and get my pass, so I think I was just a bit wide in the dirt and get him over for the first time. But, no, I was pushing to try and force him into a mistake or something. My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had. The car was beautiful to drive, and I felt very confident, so, a great race, which is certainly not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good.”

Norris to his McLaren team: ““Wooo! Beautiful. Car was unbelievable today. Well done guys. Incredible, we’re flying. Thank you so much for the car, nice to finally be able to do it all for you again. Feels like it’s been a while. Congrats. Hard work pays off.”

Big, friendly chat between Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris. Verstappen looks cheerful. “Once you have clean air, you are flying,” he tells Norris.

The fastest driver was Carlos Sainz at 222mph, which will be no consolation to Oscar Piastri, with whom he had a touching of wheels before the previous leader’s withdrawal.

Finishing third will be helpful for championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

“An excellent drive,” Red Bull tell Verstappen. “How I finished second today, I don’t know,” he grumps.

Norris: “Woooh, beautiful, car was brilliant today….I love you all.”

69/70 “Handing out penalties like crazy,” moans Hamilton as the Ferrari team break the bad news. Verstappen is holding on to second in some comfort. McLaren are worried that Norris doesn’t suffer the same fate as Piastri.

68/70 Hamilton is 4.5 seconds off Leclerc and so should drop down to fifth if that pace sustains to the end of the race.

67/70 Norris’s serenity remains, having ridden out his losing pole on the opening lap. He’s told “no exit kerbs”. His team think that’s what did for Piastri. He is asked to nurse the McLaren home.

65/70 Verstappen, for all his complaints, has had quite a decent run of the race. A second-placed position is within his grasp.

64/70 These back markers are drivers in the top 10. That cost Antonelli two seconds in his pursuit of Verstappen. Lindblad, in ninth, is overtaken by Hulkenberg as he has to give way.

63/70 Antonelli is giving chase to Verstappen, who is just 0.6 seconds behind but he also has to deal with traffic, and all those back markers mean Hamilton can catch him up.

61/70 Norris is a second slower than those two fliers. Back in the points, Hulkenberg is in 10th, as Bortoletto’s lack of tyres slows him down.

60/70 Good battle between Antonelli and Hamilton. The former Mercedes man takes on his old team, his replacement, and has to ride out a back-end slide.

59/70 Hamilton made a judicious choice there. Now, does he have the time left to chase down Verstappen? Antonelli has similar intentions.

58/70 Did Hamilton risk a penalty there during the virtual safety car? “I think I was ahead,” says Antonelli. “We’re talking it through,” say his team. Hamilton hands back the place to Antonelli in third. Can Verstappen, nine seconds ahead, stay away?

57/70 Cheap pits for Norris and Hamilton. Antonelli’s stop came at the wrong time. Norris still leads ahead of Verstappen, who did not pit, with Hamilton and Antonelli.

55/70 Russell is coming in for Mercedes as he seeks to save his horror weekend. Antonelli asks what position he is in. “We have potential for P2,” he is told on the radio.

54/70 Antonelli pits and comes out in sixth, ahead of Russell, luckless. Norris and Piastri are in front, and the gap between the two is 12.3 seconds.

53/70 Norris has the race to himself, the real race will happen for the podium positions. The gap is 8.5 seconds to Antonelli, whose team tell him his tyres will need to be changed.

52/70 Hamilton is closing on Piastri but Verstappen is closing on Hamilton. There’s plenty left in the race.

51/70 Sergio Perez has drawn to a near-half in his Cadillac, having come off the track. He is crawling along, and making a nuisance of himself. Looks like both Cadillacs are out of the race.

50/70 Leclerc escapes punishment for yellow flag infringement but tells his team the car is out of rhythm. Red Bull tell Verstappen he “can have some fun at the end”.

49/70 Antonelli is asked to keep it tight by his team as they ready him for a pit. He’s still got 4.6 seconds on Piastri despite only having stopped once. Will he stay out?

48/70 There’s 21 racers left out there: Norris, Antonelli, Piastri, Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Hadjar the top eight.

47/70 Antonelli is soon to pit. The Mercedes tyre strategy has not paid off. Ferrari must be thinking the same with Verstappen chasing Hamilton down.

45/70 Norris hunts down Antonelli, the tyres doing all the talking. Antonelli is a pure racer so is enjoying himself while he still can. Norris needs to stay patient.

44/70 There’s a yellow flag for Charles Leclerc, who has been otherwise rather quiet in this race. Sainz gets a penalty for his clash with Piastri.

43/70 The race is on over whose tyres can last the better between Verstappen and Hamilton, the old firm.

42/70 Norris has the fastest lap, second behind Antonelli and perhaps not for long. Verstappen has pitted and comes out in fifth, behind Hamilton, and ahead of Leclerc in a Ferrari sandwich.

41/70 Did Hamilton and Alonso clash? Seems like it. Verstappen leads, Antonelli second but Norris and Piastri are coming fast. Piastri is blaming his team for the Sainz incident. “Don’t talk s*** to me now,” he says on the radio.

38/70 Leclerc has come out behind Hadjar, whose job appears to be that of blocker.

37/70 Leclerc pits, and comes out in seventh. Norris is still yet to pit as the calculations are run over by his McLaren team.

36/70 Antonelli continues to hunt Leclerc. Piastri’s speed is such that he seems the likeliest to win the race, on count back of pits.

35/70 Norris’ job is to make up as much time as he can to offset the threat of Hamilton at his next pit. “Am I going to be in trouble at the end of this race,” asks Hamilton. He’s worried he has pitted too early.

34/70 Piastri comes out in fifth. Antonelli is all over the back of Leclerc in third. When will Norris come in? Hamilton is seen as the threat.

33/70 Do McLaren pit? They consider it, but go back in. “You mean you won’t let me, I am miles faster,” says Norris. Hamilton is now flying, and sets a fastest lap. Piastri comes in.

32/70 Can Hadjar hold up Hamilton for long? No, is the answer, at the final turn, and Hamilton goes past but is 18 seconds behind Antonelli.

31/70 Russell sets a fastest lap, and Hamilton comes in on his tyres, which maybe shows why he hasn’t overtaken Verstappen. Hamilton comes out in seventh but behind another Red Bull in Hadjar.

30/70 Beau Dure gets in touch: “Hamilton keeps saying Verstappen is slow. So why hasn’t he overtaken him?” There is talk the Ferrari team are in conservation mode.

29/70 How are Piastri’s tyres? Lando Norris keeps going wide, which allows his teammate some space. This should be serene progress for the McLarens. Will they be allowed to race?

28/70 Russell is pitting at last, having gone from seventh, and 3.9 seconds is slow. He comes out in ninth.

27/70 Leclerc and Antonelli, fifth and sixth, are an imminent battle, the Mercedes travelling 0.7 seconds faster.

26/70 Verstappen is dropping back of the McLaren pair. Piastri tells his team his tyres “don’t feel great”.

25/70 Piastri and Norris are both flying, back to the old school, and look very quick indeed.

24/70 Fernando Alonso is in 10th, the first time he’s raced in a points position all season in his Aston Martin.

23/70 Antonelli comes in, for 2.1 seconds, very quick, and he’s in sixth. The tyres should speed him back up the race. Russell’s yet to pit. He needs a safety car to save him.

22/70 Antonelli’s gap on Piastri is 9.5 seconds. Can he make a one-stop strategy work? It appears not…

21/70 Russell up to seventh, and it looks as if Antonelli and him are on a one-stop strategy. Leclerc, in sixth, has had a quiet race in the Ferrari.

20/70 Verstappen is driving very well, despite all his gripes.

19/70 Piastri blasts past Hadjar, and Norris does the same. The two McLarens are through, and Hadjar allows Verstappen through, but blocks off Hamilton. The blocking doesn’t last long, and Hamilton is in fifth.

18/70 Norris pits and it’s slow, and Antonelli now leads. What is the Mercedes strategy? Hadjar, yet to pit, is in second. Piastri and Norris are third and fourth, and managed to pit ahead of Verstappen.

17/70 Piastri comes in, and so Norris leads. Verstappen, having pulled off such a good move, is still complaining, saying his brakes did all the work. Such a grump.

14/70 Ferrari to pit, and it’s Hamilton who’s in for a good stop. The two-stop strategy is on. Red Bull are preparing to do similarly. Hamilton comes out in ninth. The undercut is on? He’s up to eighth, behind Liam Lawson.

13/70 Alex Albon is shown going off the track, and he’s in 19th, having locked up and performed what looks like a handbrake turn.

12/70 Russell is in 11th, and will surely get up to Hadjar before he finds any trouble. Verstappen’s tyres are in decay, it appears. He won’t take that well.

11/70 “The tyres feel good”, says Piastri, who doesn’t have to deal with dirty air. Verstappen is complaining about his gear shifts. “Max is really slow,” Hamilton tells his Ferrari team. As yet, he has not been able to overtake.

10/70 “Dirty air, much faster,” Lando Norris tells the McLaren garage. He’s not close enough to his teammate, Oscar Piastri just yet.

9/70 Lance Stroll is first to pit. Will Ferrari come into the pits for those tyres. Antonelli is not doing much in chasing down Leclerc. He’s told by Bono to keep the gap close.

8/70 Lovely sweeping bends on this track but that makes it difficult to overtake. The gao between Verstappen and Hamilton is very thin.

7/70 Still a packed field. Antonelli is behind Charles Leclerc, and must fancy overtaking an opponent on the soft tyres. Russell is up to 13th.

6/70 McLaren first and second brings back memories of last season. Max Verstappen uses a rude word to describe the performance of his Red Bull car.

5/70 A replay of the start shows Russell dropping back in the field before he can get his engine underway. Lando Norris’ second bend mistake shows some hesititancy.

4/70 It’s dusty and breezy. Hamilton bides his time. Only three seconds separate the top five. Piastri, with open road in front of him, has set a new fastest lap. Liam Lawson is in eighth. Russell, with plenty of traffic to deal with, is in 16th.

3/70 Verstappen v Hamilton is the battle here, and it requires great defensive work from Verstappen. The McLaren pair can thus ease away. Hamilton has the fastest lap.

2/70 Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Antonelli, Hadjar is the top seven. Russell lost 12 places after the anti-stall on his Merc caught him out. He’s in 18th.

We’ll soon be off in the 11th race of the season at Hungaroring. Hold steady for 70 laps. Like the World Cup trophy, Louis Vuitton are looking after the winners’ silverware. The formation lap begins, a sonic boom of revving engines.

Lando Norris is eating what appears to be rice pudding, doubtless with extra protein protection. It’s hot out there, with Bono saying it’s 50 degrees on track, though there’s also a wind picking up.

Martin Brundle starts his own dance. Laurence Stroll, Mr Aston Martin, is there, and happy enough with his team. Adrian Newey is not around, so Brunds doesn’t get to speak to the great man. Herbie Blash, FIA veteran, recalls the first Hungarian GP from 1966 fondly. George Hendy, rugby man, has been enjoying his time on the grid. Joe Ramirez, another veteran, has been to every GP here, and his first ever was Monaco in 1962. We seem short on celebs as compared to the glitzier tracks. This isn’t like the World Cup. No sign of David Beckham or Tom Brady. Quick chat with Bono, Antonelli’s man: “Bit rough,” he says of the Antonelli penalty. “We’re at least on the grippy side of the grid. Here’s Adrian Newey. “We had so little prep time,” he says. He’s scoping out the McLaren. Casey Stoney, bikes legend. “There’s ups and downs with the regs, it’s overcomplicated, I like how much power there is.” And so to the anthem…

As we await the preliminaries, some Hungarian folk dancing is taking place, the czardas.

If you are interested: “A courting dance for couples, it begins with a slow section (lassu), followed by an exhilarating fast section (friss). The individual dancers carry themselves proudly and improvise on a simple fundamental step, their feet snapping inward and outward, the couples whirling.”

There’s a metaphor there somewhere.

Kimi Antonelli speaks: “Obviously is a pity to, you know, to have gone down those three places, but, you know, is what it is, and the most important is that we try to maximise today’s race, but pace is good. It’s very warm today, a big gustier, as well, so it’s gonna be interesting to see.

“The race pace has been stronger than our single lap, so... I think there’s a lot to play for, … so we try to do our best, uh, but I’m really looking forward to it, and hopefully, we can do a good race for the team, for myself, and for the fans.”

More groans and gripes.

F1 is not a happy camp these days.

Nor was it a surprise, pre-race predictions from drivers proving all too prescient. With two sectors of long straights and little chance to harvest, the cars were energy starved, reducing the middle sector to internal combustion engine power only, effectively half of their potential output. It meant the cars were so down on power that corners such as Pouhon, an exquisite test of risk and reward, of seeing quite how far a car could be pushed, were now barely worth a consideration.

Read Giles Richards’ qualifying report.

Norris took the top spot for McLaren by one-hundredth of a second from Hamilton’s Ferrari, but the latter’s place on the front row remained in doubt, as he was under investigation by the FIA.

Hamilton said he had been informed by the team that Piastri was closing on him only when the McLaren was already right behind him and that he did not know anyone was still on a hot lap behind him. Nonetheless, after qualifying, the stewards ruled he was at fault and imposed the grid penalty.

Max Verstappen, starting in fourth, speaks: “I don’t really know where we where we stand, all right, like how competitive, of course, we can be.

“I’m starting a little bit further ahead because of penalties of others, but, um, yeah, I don’t know. I mean, hopefully, of course, we get positively surprised in the race.”

He remains unimpressed by his Red Bull car,

Drivers’ standings before the Hungarian GP

1 Kimi Antonelli 🇮🇹Mercedes 204pts
2 Lewis Hamilton 🇬🇧 Ferrari 159
3 George Russell 🇬🇧 Mercedes 154
4 Charles Leclerc 🇲🇨Ferrari 126
5 Lando Norris 🇬🇧McLaren 103
6 Oscar Piastri 🇦🇺McLaren 92
7 Max Verstappen 🇳🇱Red Bull 91
8 Isack Hadjar 🇫🇷Red Bull 60
9 Pierre Gasly 🇫🇷Alpine 42
10 Liam Lawson 🇳🇿Racing Bulls 39
11 Arvid Lindblad 🇬🇧Racing Bulls 22
12 Franco Colapinto 🇦🇷Alpine 19
13 Oliver Bearman 🇬🇧Haas 18
14 Gabriel Bortoleto 🇧🇷Audi 10
15 Carlos Sainz 🇪🇸Williams 6
16 Alexander Albon 🇹🇭Williams 5
17 Esteban Ocon 🇫🇷Haas 3
18 Fernando Alonso 🇪🇸Aston Martin 1

– Nico Hülkenberg 🇩🇪 Audi
– Lance Stroll 🇨🇦Aston Martin
– Valtteri Bottas 🇫🇮Cadillac
– Sergio Pérez 🇲🇽Cadillac