F1, the words of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris

F1, the words of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris

Here are the words of the top three finishers in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, namely Lewis Hamilton, who took his 104th career pole position almost two years after his previous one, Max Verstappen, second just 3 thousandths, and Lando Norris.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): “It’s a mix of surprise and irrepressible joy. I have experienced an incredible year and a half, I even lost my voice from how much I shouted in the car. It’s a great feeling and I’m grateful to be here because the team worked great and we pushed hard to finally get on pole and it’s like a first for me. I didn’t expect that we could fight for pole today, in the last attempt I gave everything, there was nothing left to squeeze. It was also a difficult challenge for everyone in the team, so many ups and downs, however, none of us lost confidence. We compacted even more and focused on getting the car back in the right direction. I attacked in every part of the circuit, I took risks, it was hard, but I hope it’s a demonstration that we are on the right track. There was a big difference in balance between all the tires, however, we were comfortable with all of them and in the end with the softs it was a bomb. With these compound changes it is not easy to find the balance in all the corners. I think for tomorrow we will study as much as we can to give our best, it will be hard to compete with the others, McLaren is going strong and Max is always number one.”

Max Verstappen (Red Bull): “I struggled throughout the course of the weekend to find the right balance. It was also lacking today in qualifying. I never found the right confidence to go and really attack the corners. In Q3 I have to say that my first attempt was good, while my second attempt was not. I suffered both at the front and at the rear. With the car we have available I should be up there in front. Tomorrow? “I think a lot will depend on how hot it will be. It looks like it will be considerable. At the rear there will be pain, although usually on Sunday everything balances out. I would have liked to have had a better feeling with the front but we were not able to balance the car in the best way. We are too unpredictable here in Budapest.”

Lando Norris (McLaren): “I’m disappointed. When you get within a tenth of pole you feel it could have come if we had put everything together. But the team did a good job, we are 3rd and 4th. So far it’s a good weekend. But as a driver I’m not overjoyed. I think I made mistakes here and there that cost me dearly today. There are always little things you get wrong. It was not a perfect lap for me. There are always elements of risk, but definitely a tenth better I could have done. The car is fast, the race pace on Friday was pretty strong. We are as fast here as we were at Silverstone. From that point of view, I’m excited. Overtaking here is difficult, so I’m a little more frustrated than I would normally be with this third place. But I hope to score good points tomorrow.”