Hungarian GP qualifying: Lewis Hamilton mocks Max Verstappen by 3 thousandths

Hungarian GP qualifying: Lewis Hamilton mocks Max Verstappen by 3 thousandths

No one had ever managed to take pole position nine times on the same circuit. Lewis Hamilton did it today at the Hungaroring and will start ahead of everyone in the Hungarian Grand Prix tomorrow in his Mercedes. He beat his great rival, two-time world champion Max Verstappen, by just 3 thousandths, who sees a string of five consecutive poles break.

In-season change in qualifying regulations from this Grand Prix: in Q1 drivers can only fit hard tires, in Q2 only medium tires and in Q3 only soft tires, a further gag on the teams’ strategies and creativity.

They are eliminated in Q1, in order, Alexander Albon (Williams), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), George Russell, who surprisingly does not go beyond 18th place in his Mercedes, Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Logan Sargeant (Williams).

In Q2 Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari is eliminated by only 2 thousandths, also out of Q3 are Esteban Ocon (Alpine), the returning Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine). In Q3 at the last second Hamilton mocks Verstappen by setting a time of 1’16″609 against the Red Bull Dutchman’s 1’16″612.

Hamilton returns to pole almost two years after the one in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, for him it is the start on pole number 104 of his career and the conquest of yet another record, while Mercedes had been abstinent for exactly one year, when precisely on the Hungaroring Russell succeeded.

Third and fourth place for the now officially reborn McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, also extraordinary were the Alfa Romeo-Sauber cars with Guanyu Zhou fifth and career-best qualifier and Valtteri Bottas, seventh, between them, sixth, the best of the Ferraris, that of Charles Leclerc. Eighth is Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), ninth a still disappointing Sergio Perez (Red Bull), tenth Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).