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Saturday at the Hungaroring has wrapped up for the 40th F1 Hungarian Grand Prix. The threat of rain loomed around the track and landed midway through the session, adding a very light sprinkling of chaos to the mix. It was no deterrent for one Charles Leclerc, who came out of nowhere at the end of Q3 to blow the field out of the water and secure an amazing pole position. The two McLarens line up behind him, with Oscar Piastri in P2 and Lando Norris n P3.
Here is how it all went down:
Q1:
Early in the session, both Piastri and Lewis Hamilton dipped their wheels into the gravel of the track. The slight mistake didn’t cost them much in terms of time, as they were among the top of the timesheet in the first half of Q1.
The track-specific upgrade that Aston Martin brought continued to work well for them in conjunction with a major aerodynamic upgrade introduced in Spa, as they set lightning speed times with a handful of minutes to go.
Rookies Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto found incredible performance as well, landing within the top six after the end of the session.
Yuki Tsunoda, who had been keeping pace with his teammate throughout the practice sessions, was just 0.15s behind Max Verstappen after the first 18 minutes of Qualifying. Yet it wasn’t enough, and he finished in P16, not advancing to Q2. Joining him were Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg and Alex Albon.
Q2:
Clouds rolled in at the start of the session, with rain falling around turns one and five of the track.
Aston Martin kept up the performance, with both drivers staying firmly at the top of the timing tower throughout the length of the session. This was Lance Stroll’s second time this season advancing to Q3.
With the rain sprinkling on the track, Leclerc went on team radio to give a strong message to his team that he wants to get a solid lap in as soon as possible. Ferrari got the message and sent him out quickly, in a crucial moment for Quailifying. Despite a tricky lap, Leclerc put together a time to advance to Q3.
Meanwhile, Hamilton did not have as nearly as good of a time on a track he has historically done well on, and was eliminated in Q2 by a margin of 0.015s. He was joined by Oliver Bearman, Franco Colapinto–who put pressure on himself early in the session by going over track limits– Carlos Sainz, and Kimi Antonelli, who likewise fell victim to track limits to tumble down to P15.
Q3:
The rain stayed light enough for everyone to continue qualifying on soft tires. Early in the Q3 it was once again McLaren versus McLaren with only 0.009s separating Piastri and Norris.
After the first round of flyers, Stroll was the third victim of track limits, putting himself in a tight spot for the final few minutes. Both Aston Martins laid down incredible laps towards the end of the session with Alonso momentarily sitting in P2 between the McLarens. The two finished the session in a very healthy P4 and P5.
The rain and clouds played a factor in the end, cooling down the track enough to affect tire conditioning. This gave the Leclerc’s Ferrari the exact kick it needed to find another gear. He secured a pole position that he himself described as the most surprising of his career. This is also Ferrari's first pole in Hngary since 2017.
The full results are down below:
Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
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