Nico Hulkenberg said the gap to the cars ahead was “bigger than what we thought and expected” after qualifying 10th for the Hungarian Grand Prix, despite a “trouble-free” session. Hulkenberg said: "Pretty much it was trouble-free. It's nice for once to have a clean one. I feel like we maximised it. Very positive to be in Q3. I'm not so happy about the distance, the gap to P9, and then from P9 actually to P8 and then onwards again. It's bigger than what we thought and expected but I feel we maximised what we had, so that's all we can do."


Formula 1 and the FIA have confirmed plans for Malaysia to host the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on October 2-4, between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix, subject to final agreements and World Motor Sport Council approval. The race will be branded the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with F1 saying it preserves a Grand Prix “that would otherwise not have happened”, and that the rest of the 2026 schedule is unchanged. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “We are delighted to confirm that Malaysia will host the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2026.”





Lando Norris said he had to push into “unexplored territory” to secure Hungarian Grand Prix pole at the Hungaroring, with the new tarmac and an upgraded MCL40 making it hard to judge where the grip would be. Norris said: "It wasn't my finest, and it was difficult to put a lap together, with the new tarmac being grippy in places and not in others. Sometimes it felt like a bit of a lottery in certain corners, but when I had the confidence to push more, I pushed more and I kind of got into unexplored territory from when I pushed to the next level."

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Lando Norris’ pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix was “a little bit of an overachievement” and that Ferrari still has the best chassis in terms of cornering grip. Stella said: "I think today the pole position is a little bit of an overachievement thanks to execution and maximising the potential that was available. I think Ferrari still has the best chassis in terms of grip in the corners. This is very apparent in braking."

Oliver Bearman says Haas "shouldn't be fighting with" Aston Martin after he missed out on Q2 in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Bearman said: "We only have three, so we didn't really have much other choice. But it gives us another race set for tomorrow, so that should hopefully put us in a good window. But yeah, it's been a tough weekend so far. The Astons did three sets and that definitely helps them, but we shouldn't be fighting with them."

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari’s long-run pace looked “very, very strong” during practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but he is expecting the race to be tighter than Friday suggested. Leclerc said: "The long-run pace was actually very, very strong, so that's good. But again, it's difficult to take for granted what we've seen yesterday because everybody seems to have made a big step forward from yesterday to today. So I expect it to be much tighter tomorrow in the race."

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Oscar Piastri’s Hungarian Grand Prix weekend was affected more by missing first practice than by only getting McLaren’s new floor upgrade on his car in Saturday’s final session. Stella said: "The main impact to his weekend was the fact that he missed FP1, rather than not having the new components. When the conditions are so difficult, you get in tune from a driving point of view. Oscar was paying a bit of a price, certainly, of having missed FP1. The new parts, especially the floor, adds downforce without changing the characteristics of the car, so I don't think this is a major factor."

Get the full feed, faster alerts, and the stories worth following on your phone.