Lando Norris led a McLaren 1-2 in F1 Hungarian GP qualifying from Oscar Piastri amid double red flag, as Max Verstappen was third.
Q1:
The hot conditions paved way to rain at the start of the first part in F1 Hungarian GP qualifying. The track, though, wasn’t as damp for intermediate compound as the whole field chose the slick tyres to start the session and run through as much.
As they ran through the laps, the rain started to fall and the session was red-flagged after another crash for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez at Turn 8. He lost control over the kerb and smashed onto the barrier which resulted in a medical car call-up.
There was also a barrier hit for Williams’ Logan Sargeant at Turn 1 but he managed to bring his car back in the pits while being seventh in the order. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m17.087s) led the way from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
It didn’t end like that as the track improved for Visa Cash App RB’s Daniel Ricciardo to top the session with a 1m17.050s lap to drop Hamilton to second, with Verstappen (1m17.087s) improving to third – which was an identical time to Hamilton.
The late improvements meant Mercedes’ George Russell (1m17.968s) was knocked out in 17th behind Perez (1m17.886s). Stake F1 Team’s Zhou Guanyu (1m18.037s) improved but was only 18th as Alpine pair of Esteban Ocon (1m18.049s) and Pierre Gasly (1m18.166s) paid the price by not venturing out.
Q2:
The second part was good enough for the slick tyres in F1 Hungarian GP qualifying as several ventured out on the used set to start the session. It was close in the end with traffic, as McLaren’s Lando Norris set the pace with a 1m15.540s lap.
He headed Verstappen and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri in the Top 3, as Hamilton was saved by just the 0.010s margin to make it in Q3. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was the driver to lose out in 11th with a 1m16.384s lap after complaints on radio regarding slow run.
The German lost out in the final sector to lose out on a place in the Top 10, as Stake F1 Team’s Valtteri Bottas (1m16.384) was close too to miss out in 12th. Williams pair of Alexander Albon (1m16.429s) and Logan Sargeant (1m16.543s) ended up 13th and 14th, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m16.548s) in 15th.
Q3:
The final part of F1 Hungarian GP qualifying saw rain prediction in the other half of the session. And so the first lap saw Norris take provisional pole after his 1m15.227s lap which was 0.3s quicker than Verstappen (1m15.555s) in a dominant show.
Piastri (1m15.863s) was third from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Hamilton in the Top 5. It was an early venture for the final outing due to the weather situation. It was drizzling but both Piastri and Verstappen managed to improve to be second and third.
They were still behind Norris who did not get his lap due to a red flag for a wild crash for Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda at the exit of Turn 5. The Japanese racer went slightly airbourne after running over the kerb to crash out of the session.
It was McLaren 1-2 under the red flag as Verstappen decided not to go out again. In fact, the re-start didn’t have much of a change as Norris took pole in F1 Hungarian GP by 0.022s margin from teammate Piastri (1m15.249s) and Verstappen (1m15.273s).
The Dutchman was 0.046s behind Norris in a close Top 3 finish, as Sainz (1m15.696s) and Hamilton (1m15.854s) managed to get a lap before red flag to be fourth and fifth. Leclerc (1m15905s) lost out to be sixth from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (1m16.043s).
Teammate Lance Stroll (1m16.244s) was eighth from Ricciardo (1m16.447s), who was the only driver to improve on his time in the final attempt to be ninth ahead of teammate Tsunoda (1m16.477s) in the Top 10.
Here’s FIA on Zandvoort, Belgium trial
Here’s what was said after Friday in F1 Hungarian GP
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