Hungarian Grand Prix – Qualifying: Hamilton outperforms Verstappen!

The pre-session image was strong: Christian Horner himself went to see Sergio Pérez, who was struggling compared to Max Verstappen at Red Bull. Was it a reprimand? Encouragement? In any case, it’s clear that the team principal of the Austrian team had to re-motivate the Mexican, in case he failed to reach Q3 again.

The forces at play before these qualifications were called Red Bull, of course, but also McLaren, Mercedes, and why not Ferrari. We had to pass the Q1 challenge and the new tire rule.

Q1: Zhou and Alfa Romeo surprise

Hard tire for everyone! The strategy was unnecessary, as all the drivers were in the same position. Everyone chose to go out, or almost everyone, especially the Ferrari and Aston Martin.

And suddenly appears Valtteri Bottas! The Finnish driver snatched the best time from Sergio Pérez and not even Max Verstappen could beat this lap time! The pace of the Alfa Romeo cars is really interesting on the hard tyres. What an exciting start to the session!

Bottas even improved his time to 1:18.775. Quite the opposite for Ferrari, who were far off the pace. But the cancelled times kept piling up, especially for the Williams of Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant, both of whom were very fast.

The AlphaTauris have also found their place, each with a set of new tires. Daniel Ricciardo reached 8th place, Yuki Tsunoda 4th, while Max Verstappen took the lead from Bottas by… just one tenth!

The Alpine team also fitted new tires and significantly improved: Pierre Gasly missed the best time by 85 milliseconds, while Esteban Ocon set the 5th fastest time.

Guanyu Zhou has also proven the exceptional performance of the Alfa [Romeo], by setting the fastest time on his second attempt! Neither Lando Norris, nor Pérez, nor the Ferrari cars were able to surpass him, with his time of 1:18.143.

The end of the session was chaotic, with very heavy traffic leading to traffic jams. George Russell pulled a “Perez” and found himself 18th…and thus eliminated! And Zhou, despite Verstappen’s attempt, held onto his advantage. A very, very interesting and undecided Q1!

Daniel Ricciardo, on the other hand, managed to just scrape through to Q2 for his return to F1…unlike Yuki Tsunoda, who failed to make it through.

The eliminated from Q1: Albon, Tsunoda, Russell, Magnussen, Sargeant.

Q2: Watch out for the McLarens!

With the switch to medium tires, the hierarchy could be upset: some cars are more comfortable with the “intermediate” tires for dry track.

Sergio Pérez set the pace and set the example for his teammates: 1:17.675 on his first lap. Lance Stroll then followed, falling short by less than two tenths.

The serious things started when Verstappen unleashed a 1:17.296, followed by Norris just 32 milliseconds behind. But wait! Mad Max went beyond the track limits and his time was canceled, just like Lance Stroll’s. This is how McLaren, in the order Lando Norris/Oscar Piastri, took the lead.

The championship leader chose to go out early to validate his lap, risking that the improvements of others may prevent him from setting the best time. He fell short by two tenths of a second behind Norris!

The road ended there for Daniel Ricciardo, not far from Q3 on his return. On the other hand, it’s a disappointing situation for Carlos Sainz, who missed out on the superpole by two thousandths of a second… and both Alpines were eliminated. It’s worth questioning, especially when Norris held the fastest time.

And even crazier: the two Alfa Romeo cars also made it through, creating yet another amazing surprise in this qualifying session in Hungary.

The eliminated from Q2: Sainz, Ocon, Ricciardo, Stroll, Gasly.

Q3: A stratospheric comeback

The rise in power of these qualifications came with the soft tires. Ten warriors on track and a newfound uncertainty for the order of the Top 10.

Sergio Perez was the first to leave, finally making it into Q3 this season. His 1:17.142 wouldn’t hold for long. Lando Norris immediately showed the way, setting the fastest time ahead of Alonso! And Max Verstappen ended the hype with a 1:16.612, one tenth ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

The hopes of suspense remained for the second attempt: perhaps Verstappen would finally be beaten, to bring some much-needed excitement to F1 this season.

Charles Leclerc unleashed behind Sergio Pérez. The latter made a mistake in Sector 1, Leclerc wasn’t far behind, and Verstappen was about to confirm his pole position. And Lando Norris missed out by 82 milliseconds on his 2nd pole. And Lewis Hamilton emerged just three milliseconds behind!

The Briton defeated Verstappen and handed Mercedes their first pole since Russell (Brazil 2022)…and his first personal pole since Jeddah 2021! This 104th pole is a cause for celebration in a season that seemed lost, as it was so dominated…but here is the freshness we were waiting for!

The two McLarens followed and will occupy the second row. As for Pérez and the Ferraris, there are some notes to take… Especially when Guanyu Zhou qualified in an outstanding 5th position!