Formula 1 is back at the iconic Hungaroring for the 13th race weekend of the 2024 season, bringing the unpredictable weather that has kept teams on their toes. Despite forecasts predicting hot weather, brutal flash floods have swept through the circuit, forcing teams to adapt their strategies and preparations.
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Qualifying 1 (Q1)
As the first qualifying session got underway, it had been raining for the past hour, creating a challenging scenario for the drivers. However, the rain began to ease, and the track started to dry, leading all cars to switch to slicks, specifically soft tyres.
Lewis Hamilton nailed his lap at 1:17.087, comfortably setting the pace early in the session. Meanwhile, Logan Sargeant in his Williams encountered issues, locking up at Turn 1 and lightly hitting the barrier. He managed to limp back to the pits for a new front wing.
The session took a dramatic turn when Sergio Perez lost control of the slippery kerbs at Turn 8, spinning off into the barriers. His RB20 sustained significant damage to its right side and rear, raising concerns about a potential gearbox change. This incident brought out the red flags and halted the session. For Perez, this marked yet another Q1 exit at a track that has never been kind to him, having never qualified in the top three in his 13 races here.
As the rain intensified after the red flag, DRS remained disabled when the session resumed. George Russell briefly improved his time to move up to P10 but quickly tumbled down to P17 as other drivers continued to improve their laps. A fuel miscalculation left Russell unable to complete the session, resulting in a disappointing early exit.
Daniel Ricciardo displayed impressive pace in his RB, setting the fastest session time with a 1:17.050, narrowly edging out Hamilton.
The Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly decided against coming out of the pits, banking on the wet track not drying enough. This error relegated their drivers to the back of the grid, along with Perez, Russell, and Zhou Guanyu, who were knocked out in Q1.
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Qualifying 2 (Q2)
Max Verstappen went out on fresh tyres for Q2, while several other drivers, including Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Nico Hulkenberg, opted to stick with used tyres. In contrast, Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll chose fresh rubber to take advantage of the drying conditions.
Carlos Sainz was the first to post a time in Q2 on used softs, clocking a 1:17.028, slightly quicker than his best Q1 timing. Verstappen soon topped that with a 1:15.770. Piastri, impressively close despite being on used tyres, was just 0.015 seconds off Verstappen's time.
As the track dried further, the McLarens began to show their pace. Norris shot to the top with a 1:15.540, the fastest time of the Q2 session. Verstappen improved his time but remained 0.2 seconds behind Norris.
The final moments of Q2 were tense. Hamilton was on the brink of elimination but narrowly squeaked through. Hulkenberg, however, missed out on Q3 by just 0.010 seconds. Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant, and Kevin Magnussen were also eliminated in this session.
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Qualifying 3 (Q3)
The drivers were warned that they had to set their times as quickly as possible before the weather played its hand.
Verstappen ended the session with an impressive time, but his chief rival, Norris, set the fastest lap with a considerable margin. Norris's lap was 0.328 seconds quicker than Verstappen's and 1.4 seconds faster than last year's pole position at this track.
Piastri, while unable to match his teammate, secured P2, just 0.022 seconds behind Norris. As the McLaren duo continued showing dominance, Yuki Tsunoda's session took a dramatic turn. The Japanese driver got out of shape on the exit of Turn 5, launching into the runoff area. The grass caught the bottom of his car, lifting it and sending him into the barriers, prompting a red flag.
With the session paused, Red Bull opted not to send Verstappen out again, confident that he wouldn't improve his timing. McLaren, aiming to hold onto their 1-2 positions, prepared for the final push.
Once the session resumed, Norris was the first out, hoping to capitalise on a clear track. However, he was 0.4 seconds off on cold tyres in his first sector. Other drivers struggled to improve their previous lap times, except Ricciardo. The Australian improved his timing, moving up one position ahead of his teammate, Tsunoda.
The session concluded with Norris securing his second pole position in four races and the third of his F1 career. McLaren celebrated a front-row lockout after a challenging qualifying session.
In the post-qualifying interviews, pole sitter Norris remarked, "Not an easy qualifying, mixed conditions but happy, and a 1-2 is even better to see. We've come into this weekend and the last few happy and confident we can fight for pole, and that's exactly what we've done. We are in the best position for whatever the conditions throw at us tomorrow."
Piastri, coming in second, said, "It's cool to be here, especially when you get a result like this - the first 1-2 for McLaren in qualifying for a very long time. We had a tricky day on my side yesterday, so it was nice to bounce back. Qualifying wasn't easy, a lot of decisions on the fly so it's nice to end up where we've ended up. I'm happy with my day's work, and it's a long run down to Turn 1 so all still to play for."
Rounding up the top three for qualifying was Verstappen, who had a few words to say after a frustrating session for him: "I tried, the whole weekend we have been a little bit behind and that was the case in qualifying. It just wasn't enough, difficult to pinpoint why that is. P3 is still very close, just have to hope the car is good in the race. I love competition, but I would like to be on top of the competition but at the moment I feel we are chasing, and I don't back out of a fight but it's trickier I guess. With the rain today, tomorrow should be a different day and I just hope that will help us."
Can McLaren play the team game and secure a 1-2 in the race as well? Stay tuned for the Hungarian Grand Prix, set to start at 14:00 BST on Sunday.
