Lando Norris claimed pole position for the 41st Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix after setting the fastest time in Saturday’s qualifying session at the Hungaroring.
The McLaren driver secured his first pole position of the season and the 17th of his Formula One career. Norris, who also won last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, will start Sunday’s race from the front of the grid.
Lewis Hamilton initially qualified second for Ferrari, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, while championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fourth for Mercedes.
However, the starting order changed after the FIA handed Hamilton a three-place grid penalty for impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri during the final phase of qualifying. Antonelli also received a three-place penalty after failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags.
As a result, Leclerc was promoted to second on the grid, Antonelli dropped to third, Piastri moved up to fourth, and Hamilton will start fifth.
The opening phase of qualifying produced few surprises. Fernando Alonso advanced to the second session in the upgraded Aston Martin, offering encouragement for the British team’s recent development programme. Cadillac’s two rookies occupied the final row of the grid, while both Williams drivers, Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, were eliminated.
The second segment unfolded largely as expected, with the eight drivers from the leading teams comfortably progressing. Racing Bulls youngster Arvid Lindblad impressed by advancing in seventh place, while Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg claimed the final spot in the decisive top-ten shootout.
Hamilton initially set the benchmark in the final session, ahead of Norris and Leclerc. During the closing minutes, every driver attempted a final flying lap, but only Norris managed to improve, overturning a deficit of more than one tenth of a second to beat Hamilton by just 0.012 seconds and secure his second consecutive Hungarian Grand Prix pole position.
Following the session, George Russell was instructed by Mercedes to stop his car immediately because of a technical issue. The Briton pulled over near Turn One rather than continuing to the pit lane.
Norris said he was delighted to return to pole position, particularly given Ferrari’s pace throughout the weekend.
‘We brought some upgrades to Hungary, but it’s still difficult to judge exactly how much they helped. I felt confident all day; we did a good job, and I’m very happy with the team,’ he said.
The Briton added that, despite starting from pole, he expects a challenging race because of the strong starts and varying strategies of his rivals.
Hamilton congratulated Norris on what he described as an outstanding lap but admitted Ferrari’s strategy in the final session may have compromised the team’s chances.
‘I felt good throughout qualifying, but going out first in the final session wasn’t the right decision because neither Charles nor I had enough grip’
‘I felt good throughout qualifying, but going out first in the final session wasn’t the right decision because neither Charles nor I had enough grip. Tomorrow will be difficult, but we were among the quickest all weekend, so there are reasons to be optimistic,’ Hamilton said.
Leclerc said changing wind conditions made qualifying particularly difficult and described the session as somewhat chaotic. Although he felt he had extracted the maximum from his car, he acknowledged he lacked the pace to match his teammate.
Olympic modern pentathlon champion Michelle Gulyás presented Norris with the pole position award.
The 70-lap Hungarian Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 15:00 local time on Sunday.
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