Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli received three-place grid penalties after Hungarian GP qualifying, reshuffling the front row. Hamilton was demoted from second to fifth for impeding Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 during Q3, while Antonelli dropped from fourth to seventh for insufficiently slowing under yellow flags when Max Verstappen spun at the final corner.

Lando Norris claimed pole position, with Charles Leclerc promoted to second alongside him. Piastri moves to third and Verstappen to fourth, ahead of George Russell. Antonelli leads the Drivers' Championship by 45 points over Hamilton and 50 over Russell heading into Sunday's 70-lap race at the Hungaroring, the final round before F1's summer break.

Hamilton questioned Ferrari's strategy of sending him out first for final runs in Q3, calling it "a bit of a shock." He held provisional pole but didn't improve, while Norris pipped him by 0.012s. Team principal Frederic Vasseur accepted responsibility: "If there's a mistake, it's our mistake." Stewards ruled Hamilton unnecessarily impeded Piastri, while Antonelli's speed reduction was deemed "insufficient and unsustained."