Sunny. Dry. Air +24…26С, route +44…42С
Qualifying at the Hungaroring is the most important session of the weekend. Overtaking on the Hungarian circuit is difficult even with DRS, the starting position determines the result, there are no strategic options – if it doesn’t rain, everyone tries to finish the race with one pit stop.
On Friday, the rain dampened the track somewhat, forcing the drivers to return to the pits, but on Saturday it was dry and on Sunday the forecast promises no precipitation.
The FIA and Pirelli proposed a new qualifying format, which was discussed for several months – Hard only in the first session, Medium only in the second – and Soft in the third, reducing the number of sets of tires brought to the Grand Prix and then discarded. The result was predictable, as with other similar initiatives – the environment did not win, Formula 1 lost.
In the first session obstructing traffic, cars on hard tires slid down a hot, sandy track, but held their own. How did the spectators fare in the crowded stands. The hardest part was for the stewards, who were looking at the course director’s photos of the riders leaving the track. It is clear that this rule should simply be abolished.
The best time was set by Guanyu Zhou, who completed a lap in difficult conditions in 1:18.143. Albon, Tsunoda, Russell, Magnussen and Sargent were knocked out in the fight.
In the second session you could run Medium tires – and they held the pavement much better. The results grew, the riders started to attack more actively, but more penalties also followed. In particular, Verstappen’s best time was canceled – he returned to the pits and lost this set of tyres.
The best time was driven by Lando Norris. Sainz, Ocon, Riccardo, Stroll and Gasly failed to qualify for the final. Fifteen riders fit in nine tenths!
In the final on Soft speeds have increased. On the first attempt, Verstappen completed the lap in 1:16.612, Lewis was just 0.126 behind him, and on the second he was faster and took his first pole since 2021, 104th in his career – and ninth in Hungary – this is an absolute record.
Hamilton and Verstappen share the front row of the grid, Norris and Piastri start the race from second, Zhou and Leclerc from third.
Qualifying results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | 2 session | 3 session | ||||||
| m | Time | kr | m | Time | kr | m | Time | kr | ||
| 1. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 7 | 1:18,577 | 8 | 2 | 1:17,427 | 6 | 1 | 1:16,609 | 6 |
| 2. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 2 | 1:18,318 | 9 | 3 | 1:17,547 | 6 | 2 | 1:16,612 | 6 |
| 3. L. Norris | McLaren | 10 | 1:18,697 | eleven | 1 | 1:17,328 | 3 | 3 | 1:16,694 | 6 |
| 4. O. Piastri | McLaren | 6 | 1:18,464 | 9 | 5 | 1:17,571 | 5 | 4 | 1:16,905 | 6 |
| 5.G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1 | 1:18,143 | 10 | 9 | 1:17,700 | 6 | 5 | 1:16,971 | 6 |
| 6. Sch.Lecler | Ferrari | 5 | 1:18,440 | 9 | 6 | 1:17,580 | 6 | 6 | 1:16,992 | 6 |
| 7. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 12 | 1:18.775 | 8 | 4 | 1:17,563 | 6 | 7 | 1:17.034 | 6 |
| 8. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 8 | 1:18,580 | 9 | 10 | 1:17,701 | 6 | 8 | 1:17.035 | 6 |
| 9. C. Perez | Red Bull | 3 | 1:18.360 | 8 | 8 | 1:17,675 | 9 | 9 | 1:17.045 | 6 |
| 10. N. Hulkenberg | hare | 9 | 1:18,695 | 8 | 7 | 1:17,652 | 6 | 10 | 1:17,186 | 6 |
| 11.K Sainz | Ferrari | 4 | 1:18,393 | 9 | eleven | 1:17,703 | 6 | |||
| 12. E. Okon | Alps | 14 | 1:18,854 | 10 | 12 | 1:17,841 | 6 | |||
| 13. D.Riccardo | AlphaTauri | 15 | 1:18,906 | 9 | 13 | 1:18.002 | 6 | |||
| 14. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 13 | 1:18,782 | 10 | 14 | 1:18.144 | 8 | |||
| 15.P Gasly | Alps | eleven | 1:18,743 | 10 | 15 | 1:18.217 | 6 | |||
| 16. A. Albon | Willems | 16 | 1:18,917 | 8 | ||||||
| 17. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 17 | 1:18.919 | 9 | ||||||
| 18.D Russell | Mercedes | 18 | 1:19.027 | 9 | ||||||
| 19. K. Magnussen | hare | 19 | 1:19.206 | 8 | ||||||
| 20. L. Sargent | Willems | 20 | 1:19,248 | 8 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
