It’s been two weeks since the emotional win of Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix and we are back for another race at the Hungaroring. Although Friday’s second practice had red flags due to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc hitting the barriers, the drivers have returned for the qualifying session to set the positions for the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday
Rain came down during qualifying, creating a dramatic atmosphere as Lando Norris claimed pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix alongside his teammate Oscar Piastri – the McLarens got a one-two with Max Verstappen following closely behind in third place.
Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari took fourth place, ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in fifth and the other scarlet car of Charles Leclerc just a position behind, then Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from Aston Martin line out the fourth row. Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda (VCARB) take 9th and 10th position.
A red flag qualifying
Starting from the bottom of the grid, we’ve got Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at P20 with 1:18:166 set time whilst his teammate Esteban Ocon lines up P19. This is followed by Zhou Guanyu from Stake at P18.
Logan Sargeant was the first to bring out the yellow flags as he locked up the front axle into the Turn 1 braking zone and went nose first into the barrier.
Meanwhile, Sergio Perez and George Russell were the big casualties to fall early in qualifying as the Red Bull driver faced a Turn 8 crash while Russell didn’t have enough fuel for a second flying lap as the track conditions improved. This put the Brit P17 and Perez in P16. The other red flag was caused by Yuki Tsunoda in the final session, with just over two minutes remaining.
The session resumed, but Verstappen and Fernando Alonso decided there was no reason to go out again and they were proved right as only Daniel Ricciardo improved on the final lap, taking over ninth place, moving Tsunoda into tenth place.
Haas took over P15 with Kevin Magnussen whilst his teammate took P11. The two Williams – Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant took P13 and P14 whilst Valtteri Botas heeded P12.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took sixth ahead of Alonso, his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll and the two RBs. Hamilton got P5 with 1:15.854 time and Carlos Sainz got his Ferrari in fourth place.
Norris edged out his team-mate by 0.022 seconds and Verstappen by just 0.046secs the session leading him to taking his third career pole, and McLaren a first one-two in qualifying since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Perez reflects on Budapest crash
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez found himself in the barriers and out of qualifying for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix – in a crash that will put his position at the team under ever closer scrutiny. Perez ended up P16 in the session after a late flurry of quick laps, to mark his fourth Q1 exit in the past six races – with the Mexican explaining the crash after qualifying.
“It was really, really bad timing,” he said. “I think at the time it was just raining a little bit harder in that part and I think when I turned in, I clipped a bit the kerb and it was on the damp side. Unfortunately, I ended up losing the car on the way in, quite late in the corner and I basically just became a passenger from that point on.”
Asked if the situation was particularly frustrating given the pressure surrounding his future, Perez replied: “Yeah, of course – it cannot happen again.
It’s time for the Hungaroring!
The Hungarian Grand Prix awaits in excitement as McLaren has ended their 12-year qualifying drought. It’s easy to say that the papaya fans were left with delight after the final few minutes of Q3 unfolded before their eyes. It all comes down to tomorrow as the engines will roar and the lights will go out for the 70-lap race.
