Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen rolled back the year’s at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday by putting Lewis Hamilton under serious pressure right off the line.

The two former championship rivals were not set to start anywhere near one another on the grid ahead of Sunday’s race at the Hungaroring, with Hamilton being pipped to pole position by Lando Norris whilst Verstappen had to settle for a qualifying position of P6 after a late incident.

However, Hamilton was slapped with a three-place grid penalty for ‘unnecessarily impeding’ McLaren‘s Oscar Piastri, bumping Verstappen up a place.

The Dutchman then received even more of a boost when the FIA stewards also dropped Kimi Antonelli three places on the grid as a result of failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags, which were ironically triggered by a crash for Verstappen in the final moments of qualifying.

With both of these penalties applied, Verstappen lined up fourth and Hamilton started fifth, meaning fans were treated to box office racing action right from the off in Hungary.

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Verstappen stuns with impressive move on Hamilton

Red Bull’s star driver got away well at the very start of Sunday’s race and headed into Turn 1 three-wide as he fought for third with both Ferraris.

As Charles Leclerc dropped back, Hamilton and Verstappen continued to battle for track position, and as any fan of either driver will know all too well by now, neither champion was keen to give in.

As a result, the pair made slight contact as their wheels banged together, and though no direct damage was caused on either car, Hamilton chose to pit after the Scuderia’s tyre gamble left him at a disadvantage having fought hard against Verstappen on a set of softs which were quickly wearing away.

The 41-year-old pitted on lap 14 and rejoined the track with fresh hard tyres fitted to his SF-26, coming out the pits in P9 behind Arvid Lindblad (though the seven-time champion quickly overtook the rookie to claim P8).

Red Bull then responded by calling Verstappen into the pits on lap 15 and though Hamilton and Ferrari appeared to have successfully completed the undercut when Verstappen came back out onto the track in P8 behind Hamilton (P7) their celebrations were cut short by a spectacular move from the 28-year-old.

On lap 16, Verstappen seemingly came from nowhere to squeeze past Hamilton with a super late braking move into Turn 1, undoing Ferraris undercut and impressing even his longtime race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase who said: “Well that was quite special.”

The move even baffled race winner and reigning champion Lando Norris in the cooldown room after the race, when the McLaren star asked Verstappen: “Did you mean to do that?” after the replay had been shown on the big screen.

Speaking after the race, Verstappen unpacked the highs and lows of his Hungarian GP experience with a bit more balance, saying: “It was still a very tough race. Like I still saw the same things as in qualifying, where the car is really, really oversteery at times and in different phases.

“So for most of the race, just trying to battle that. I think we made a lot of good moves. So in the start, you know, to move forward, that made my first stint a little bit easier.”

The champion then reacted to his impressive move on the seven-time champion, saying: “Then the move on Lewis, of course, put me again in a decent spot. And then I guess the the call at the end with the soft. It was a long stint, but luckily, yeah, it worked out for us.”

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One European track could be added to the 2026 calendar as the season finale, in what could be a dream scenario for Ferrari F1 star Lewis Hamilton.

Two races had to be cancelled earlier this year due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix both falling off the calendar.

While F1 are working hard to potentially replace those two events – with Malaysia’s Sepang Circuit and Portugal’s Portimao being tipped as possibilities – the current schedule looks like a 22-race calendar, and there could yet be more cancelled events to come.

The final two race weekends on the 2026 calendar are due to be in the Middle East, at the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, and the situation in the Middle East remains uncertain.

Because of this, it appears as though plans are being put in place incase the season-ending races need to be replaced, to ensure that we do have a showpiece event at the end of the season.

And, in what could be a dream scenario for Hamilton, a return to the calendar for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola as a season finale is now being reported as a possibility by The Race.

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Hamilton to win title in front of adoring fans?

Other than a season finale at Silverstone, it’s hard to think of a better ending to the year for Hamilton than at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Imagine this. Lewis Hamilton winning his record-breaking eighth world championship title and first with Ferrari in front of the Italian team’s home fans.

Hamilton is currently in second in the drivers’ championship, 45 points behind 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli in what could turn into a brilliant title battle between three drivers from two different teams in the latter stages of the season.

Of course, the iconic Imola track would also spell another home race for Antonelli, and it would be interesting to see who the majority of the crowd would be rooting for in that scenario.

The Emilia-Romagna GP was last on the calendar in 2025, meaning it is as F1 ready as any track not already on the schedule, which could mean that a decision to race there could be made at relatively short notice.

Imola dropped off the calendar this year to make way for the new Madring Circuit, which will host the Spanish Grand Prix in September.

The potential return of Imola, Portimao and Malaysia are being reported by many different media outlets, but GPFans understand that these are just some of several circuits under consideration to potentially hold a grand prix further down the line.

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Ferrari F1 star Charles Lerclerc’s dog Leo left a present for Red Bull at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and it was not a nice one!

Leo Leclerc has become a much-loved member of the F1 paddock, ever since Alexandra and Charles first brought him along to a race in 2024.

He is a miniature daschund, and was best friends with Lewis Hamilton‘s dog Roscoe, who unfortunately passed away last year.

And at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Leo was causing all sorts of mischief.

The pet was spotted outside Red Bull’s garage having a wee, with Leclerc and his wife Alexandra looking in equal parts mortified and amused by the situation.

Red Bull seemingly saw the funny side, posting an image on their social media pages with one of their team members holding up a piece of paper which read: ‘Leo was here’.

F1 fans on social media also pointed out that the position of Leo’s bowel movement came right underneath the number three, Verstappen’s race number since having to switch from one at the beginning of this year.

F1 RESULTS: Hungarian GP practice times and positions

Leo not the only dog causing havoc

While Leo is now the mischievous hound, it was Leclerc’s team-mate Hamilton whose dogs used to run riot in the paddock.

Hamilton owned Coco and Roscoe, with Roscoe in particular becoming part of the fabric at F1 race weekends.

And, earlier this month at the British Grand Prix, Hamilton revealed that Roscoe previously used to poo right outside Valtteri Bottas’ garage in the paddock.

“Yeah, I mean, Valtteri’s going to miss the turds that he used to put in front of you,” Hamilton said in a press conference which also involved Bottas.

“It’s kind of crazy. I mean, for all those that have dogs, I miss them every day. So, I miss both my dogs every day. I still have them on my other phone. I have a picture of them.

“But yeah, it’s kind of crazy because I remember he would always be snoring through the night, waking up in the middle of the night, take him outside to take a poo in front of Valtteri’s thing. He just always went there. Don’t know why.”

How many dogs did Lewis Hamilton have?

In 2013, Hamilton adopted two bulldogs in Roscoe and Coco, with both making regular appearances in the F1 paddock.

However, Coco was given a shorter life expectancy after complications surrounding her birth and died in 2020 following a suspected heart attack.

Roscoe died five years later at the age of 12, leaving Hamilton devastated. He was given compassionate leave by Ferrari to miss a tyre test to spend his final moments with Roscoe.

Following Roscoe’s death, Hamilton released a statement on Instagram reading: “After four days on life support, fighting with every bit of strength he had, I had to make the hardest decision of my life and say goodbye to Roscoe.

“He never stopped fighting, right until the very end. I feel so grateful and honoured to have shared my life with such a beautiful soul, an angel and true friend.

“Bringing Roscoe into my life was the best decision I ever made, and I will forever cherish the memories we created together.

“Although I lost Coco, I have never been faced with putting a dog to sleep before, though I know my mum and many close friends have.

“It is one of the most painful experiences and I feel a deep connection to everyone who has gone through the loss of a beloved pet.

“Although it was so hard, having him was one of the most beautiful parts of life, to love so deeply and to be loved in return.

“Thank you all for the love and support you’ve shown Roscoe over the years. It has been so special to witness and feel.”

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