by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Lando Norris claimed his and McLaren's first Formula 1 victory of 2026 with a commanding drive in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix after recovering from an opening-lap mistake, while Kimi Antonelli extended his championship lead despite Mercedes lacking its usual pace.

With McLaren having brought a raft of updates to Hungary, Norris started from pole position but lost the lead to teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap after running wide at Turn 3.

Piastri controlled the race through the opening stint before McLaren's pit strategy swung the advantage back to Norris, who emerged ahead after the second round of stops when Piastri was delayed while lapping Carlos Sainz's Williams.

The Briton quickly pulled away once back in front, eventually taking the chequered flag 15 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Piastri's race ended in disappointment on lap 56 when a gearbox failure forced him to retire from second place, triggering a virtual safety car.

"I don't know what happened, to be honest," Norris said of losing the lead on the opening lap.

"Oscar did a good job to get back past. I think I was just a bit wide in the dirt, and game over for the first lap.

"But I was pushing like hell to try to 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.

"I'm just happy to be back and see the number one again."

The victory was Norris' second consecutive win at the Hungaroring after also triumphing there in 2025, and marked his first victory since becoming Formula 1 world champion.

Verstappen secured an unexpected second place after complaining early in the race about handling problems and gearbox shifts. Antonelli finished third after overtaking Lewis Hamilton following the virtual safety car restart, with Ferrari agreeing the Mercedes driver had been ahead at the timing line and ordering Hamilton to yield the position.

Hamilton crossed the line fourth but dropped behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, capping a frustrating afternoon for Ferrari.

The Italian team had arrived in Budapest as one of the favorites after strong pace throughout the weekend, but neither Hamilton nor Leclerc was able to challenge the McLarens or Verstappen. Both spent much of the race bottled up behind the Red Bull before finishing fourth and fifth respectively after Hamilton's penalty was applied.

Antonelli's podium extended the Mercedes driver's championship lead to 50 points over Hamilton and 59 over teammate George Russell, who recovered from a disastrous opening lap to finish seventh.

The Briton dropped from sixth on the grid to the back of the field after his car entered anti-stall off the start, forcing him to spend the afternoon overtaking slower cars to salvage points. It followed his retirement on the opening lap of last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar finished sixth, while Racing Bulls celebrated its fifth double points finish of the season as Liam Lawson claimed eighth and Arvid Lindblad took 10th. Audi's Nico Hulkenberg scored his first points of the campaign in ninth.

Elsewhere, Aston Martin showed encouraging pace with an upgraded car despite failing to score, while Williams endured a difficult afternoon as Sainz and Alex Albon occupied the final two places, and Cadillac's woes continued as both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas retired.

Formula 1 now enters its four-week summer break before the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 23. ■