How Lando Norris’ Pirelli 2026 tyre test lap times compared to his Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying

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Lando Norris won the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix last Sunday, but the McLaren driver was back at the Hungaroring on Tuesday to take part in Pirelli’s latest 2026 tyre test.

The travelling circus broke up for the summer after Norris beat his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to win the Hungarian GP by only 0.698 seconds. A risky one-stop strategy ultimately saw the Briton triumph against the Australian’s two-stopper to earn his fifth win of the term.

Norris’ Hungarian GP win from Piastri also slashed the 25-year-old’s deficit in the F1 drivers’ championship to the 24-year-old to just nine points entering the summer break. Teams and drivers now have three weeks off before returning at the Dutch Grand Prix on August 29-31.

But Norris, Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron and Racing Bulls racer Liam Lawson all took part in the latest Pirelli tyre test at the Hungaroring this Tuesday ahead of F1’s 2026 regulations. Pirelli will also run a second 2026 tyre test at the home of the Hungarian GP on Wednesday.

Paul Aron beat Lando Norris’ best lap time during the 2026 Pirelli F1 tyre test in Hungary

Alpine, McLaren and Racing Bulls used modified mule cars to help Pirelli simulate the loads that F1’s 2026 engine and aerodynamic regulations are due to generate. Pirelli’s 2026 tyres will also be 25mm narrower at the front and 30mm narrower at the rear compared to 2025.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulations

Racing Bulls fielded the most recent car on the track, as Lawson used a modified VCARB 01 from the 2024 F1 season. Alpine and McLaren modified their cars from 2023, the A523 and the MCL60 respectively, for Aron and Norris to carry out Pirelli’s 2026 tyre test this Tuesday.

Aron even set the fastest lap of the day, according to Motorsport.com, with the 21-year-old posting a personal-best time of a 1:18.789 from his chart-leading 159 laps. Norris registered a personal-best 1:19.272 from his 144 laps and Lawson posted a 1:19.510 from his 143 laps.

Norris’ best lap time in Tuesday’s 2026 Pirelli tyre test was also 0.646 seconds faster than the best race lap time that McLaren man managed en route to winning the 2025 Hungarian GP on Sunday. The Bristol native posted the fifth-fastest race lap on Sunday with a 1:19.918.

Additionally, Norris’ best 2026 Pirelli tyre test lap time of a 1:19.272 was 3.859s slower than his time in Q3 to qualify third for the 2025 Hungarian GP. Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc scored pole for the 2025 Hungarian GP with a 1:15.372, and he will take part in Wednesday’s test.

Lando Norris lapped 2.5s slower than in qualifying for the 2023 Hungarian GP during his 2026 Pirelli tyre test

Pirelli may take some joy from Norris lapping 0.646 seconds faster during his 2026 tyre test on Tuesday than his best race lap time during Sunday’s 2025 Hungarian GP. But the Italian tyre manufacturer will look at Norris’ 2023 Hungarian GP laps for a more direct comparison.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Norris ended the 2023 Hungarian GP in second place with a 33.731s deficit to Red Bull racer Max Verstappen, who won from P2 on the grid after Lewis Hamilton took pole position with Mercedes. McLaren man Norris qualified P3 at the Hungaroring in 2023 with a 1:16.694 lap.

His Q3 lap time from 2023 was 2.578 seconds faster than the best lap time Norris set during Tuesday’s 2026 Pirelli tyre test in a modified version of the McLaren MCL60 he drove at the Hungaroring. But his best race lap in 2023 of a 1:22.178 was 2.906s slower than on Tuesday.

Pirelli will now look to record an even greater comparison between its 2026 tyre range with Leclerc on Wednesday, as Ferrari will use a modified version of their SF-25 that the 27-year-old raced on Sunday. Alpine will use the A523 again with Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.