Lando Norris of McLaren achieved his first Grand Prix pole position of the season in Hungary. He narrowly surpassed Lewis Hamilton, who was later issued a three-place grid penalty for impeding another driver. This penalty will see Hamilton start fifth on the grid.
Norris secured pole with his final lap, beating Hamilton by just 0.012 seconds. Hamilton had initially held the fastest time on the first runs in Q3. However, neither Hamilton nor his teammate Charles Leclerc could improve their times on their final attempts.
Qualifying Session Highlights
The end of the qualifying session was marked by a spin from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the final corner. This incident affected Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who were forced to slow down. Antonelli will now start third due to Hamilton’s penalty, while Russell will begin in seventh position.
Norris expressed his satisfaction with the result, stating he was pleased to be back on top, especially at a track where pole position is highly desired. He also mentioned that his laps in Q3 were not his best, making the pole position a pleasant surprise.
Hamilton, who was a second slower on his second run compared to his first, voiced his dissatisfaction. He felt he had the car capable of securing pole but did not deliver on his final lap. He also noted that he was not warned of Oscar Piastri’s approach until the last moment, leading to the impeding incident.
Stewards investigated the incident involving Hamilton and Piastri. They determined that Hamilton had unnecessarily impeded Piastri, resulting in the three-place grid demotion. This decision promotes Leclerc to second place on the grid, with Antonelli moving to third and Piastri to fourth.
Antonelli is also under a separate investigation for an alleged yellow-flag infringement. Verstappen, despite his spin, managed to qualify sixth, ahead of Russell, Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad, and Nico Hulkenberg.
Aston Martin’s Progress
Fernando Alonso made a significant step for Aston Martin, progressing into Q2 for the first time this season. This occurred on the weekend the team introduced a substantially updated car. Alonso will start 16th, which was 2.8 seconds off pole position.
Alonso expressed relief, indicating that the team has started to understand the car’s weaknesses. He noted a change in optimism within the factory following the updates. The Hungaroring track surface presented challenges for all drivers, particularly in the final two corners, where judging grip levels was difficult.
Russell encountered an issue on his final run when a water leak sprayed water onto his rear tyres. He was instructed by Mercedes to pull over immediately after crossing the finish line to prevent engine damage.
The top 10 qualifiers are:
- Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:17.207
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.012 (will start fifth due to grid penalty)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.238
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.272
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.477
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.518
- George Russell (Mercedes) +0.533
- Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.649
- Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +1.074
- Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1.479
The Hungarian Grand Prix race is scheduled for Sunday at 2pm.
Source: bbc.co.uk