Hungarian Grand Prix: Hamilton’s penalty denies all-British front row

Lewis Hamilton was denied the chance to make it an all-British front row, following a three-place penalty for blocking Lando Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton dropped to fifth on the grid, and may have erased his chances of a ninth victory on a track he has almost made his own in his 20-year career.

“I had a clean out-lap, and when I started my lap, already into Turn One I had a snap, and I was already 0.15secs down,” Hamilton said. “It just cascaded from there.

“So, the last lap was the worst lap of all, and all the other laps were really good. We clearly had the car to be on pole today, and I just didn’t deliver. So that’s tough to swallow.”

McLaren’s Lando Norris took his first grand prix pole position of the season in Hungary, beating Hamilton by 0.012 seconds with the very last lap of the session.

The seven-time champion had been fastest on the first runs, by just over 0.1secs from Norris, but neither the seven-time champion nor team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was promoted to second on the grid after Hamilton’s penalty, could improve on their final attempts.

“Very happy to be back on top, especially at a track where you certainly want to be on pole.

“I had confidence the whole of today. My laps in Q3 were not the best, even the one at the end, so pleasantly surprised to be on top,” Norris said.

Norris pulled out pole, following one in the sprint in Miami, in a chaotic end to the session caused by a spin at the final corner by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The four-time champion’s error affected Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who were forced to slow.

The Italian will start third because of Hamilton’s penalty, with Russell seventh.

Verstappen had got going again before Norris came around as the last driver on track to clinch pole in the upgraded McLaren. Piastri moves up to fourth.