Source – F1.com
After two red lights, a thrilling final sprint to the line, and wet-dry weather during the qualifying session, Lando Norris secured pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In a thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session, Lando Norris clinched the pole position with an impressive provisional pole time of 1m 15.227s during the opening runs of Q3. However, the session took a dramatic turn when Yuki Tsunoda suffered a heavy crash, causing a red flag and halting the action. With just over two minutes remaining on the clock, the session resumed under changing weather conditions, preventing most drivers from improving their times. Norris held onto P1, narrowly ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri by a mere 0.022s.
Max Verstappen opted not to complete another lap during the final moments, securing third place for Red Bull. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took fourth, with Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top five for Mercedes. Charles Leclerc slotted into sixth for Ferrari, while Aston Martin had a solid performance with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll taking seventh and eighth respectively. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed a strong day in ninth, ahead of the recovering Tsunoda in tenth.
Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out on Q3 by one hundredth of a second in his Haas, with Valtteri Bottas failing to advance in twelfth place. Despite promising showings earlier in the session, Williams’ Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were eliminated in 13th and 14th, alongside Haas’s Kevin Magnussen in 15th.
The drama peaked in Q1 when Sergio Perez hit the barriers, bringing out the red flags and ending his session prematurely in 16th place. George Russell, in a surprising turn of events, only managed 17th after seemingly putting his lap in too early. Zhou Guanyu took 18th for Sauber, while a strategic misstep from Alpine left Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in 19th and 20th respectively.
This thrilling and unpredictable qualifying session sets the stage for an exciting race, with Norris leading the charge from pole position and plenty of action expected throughout the grid.
