It was the last Grand Prix Qualifying before the summer break, and while many daydreamed of the upcoming vacations, Charles Leclerc kept his eyes on the prize. He stormed past the McLarens with a blistering 1:15:372 fast lap, winning pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Everyone’s eyes were on the McLaren drivers as they fought each other to be on front, but the young Monaguesque denied the Brittish team a front row lockout for Sunday’s race. The papaya crew had to settled for second and third for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, respectively.
Q3
It was the last session of the day and none of the best 10 seemed to be comfortable, with many complains on the radios of the very slippery, windy, and damp track.
With a few minutes left, Piastri had provisional pole, with Fernando Alonso still flying through the track and following in a close second. Norris was coming behind and pushing to steal 1st from his teammate but slotted himself second, with George Russell closing behind in third.
Yet while everyone’s eyes were on the McLaren boys fighting for pole, Leclerc’s Ferrari was storming through the track, evading traffic, and crossing the finish line with an impossible 1:15:372. The Monegasque raised the Ferrari flag to the top and won pole for the Hungary Grand Prix.
The first two behind are the frustrated McLarens with Piastri second and Lando Norris third. The ever-consistent Russell follows them in fourth and Alonso in fifth, who still showed a remarkable pace during all sessions.
The remainder of the Top 10 finds Lance Stroll in sixth, the rookie Gabriel Bortoletto in seventh, Max Verstappen in a dissapointing eight, Liam Lawson in ninth, and Isack Hadjar in 10th.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Leader |
| 1. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:15:372m |
| 2. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.026s |
| 3. | 4 | Lando Norris | Mclaren | +0.041s |
| 4. | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.053s |
| 5. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.109s |
| 6. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.126s |
| 7. | 5 | Gabriel Bortoletto | Kick Sauber | +0.353s |
| 8. | 30 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.356s |
| 9. | 6 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +0.449s |
| 10. | 1 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +0.543s |
Q2
The second session started with a mild panic along the paddock as team witnessed fans scrambling to cover their heads and taking out umbrellas. Fear of possible rain had almost all the cars ready in the pit lane to get going before they had to come back for wets.
In the end, we didn’t have any showers, but a dense rain mist was all over the track, clearly shown by the dry racing line being drafted by all the cars against the wet tarmac. A tricky condition that is preferred by some drivers and despised by others.
Time was up, and the first man to be eliminated was Kimi Antonelli, whose attempt to qualify fell short by a mere 0.006s gap against the Kick Sauber from Bortoletto. The Brazilian driver exhibited an astonishing skill behind the wheel, showing the paddock why he is the F3 and F2 Champion.
Antonelli, while initially eliminated in P11, had his time was deleted due to track limits, dropping him to 15th. This effectively promoted all the other eliminated drivers, with Oliver Bearman in 11th, Lewis Hamilton in 12th, Carlos Sainz in 13th, and Franco Colapinto in 14th.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 11. | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +0.007s |
| 12. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.015s |
| 13. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +0.094 |
| 14. | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine Renault | +0.472s |
| 15. | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.699s |
Q1
The first qualifying session in Hungary kicked off with just two Williams on the track as the rest of the teams decide to stay in for a while. However, the delay didn’t last too much; black clouds loomed on the horizon sparking fears it could pour down mid-session.
Fernando Alonso was out in his AMR25 and managed to raise everyone’s eyebrows as the two-time World Champion was thundering through the Hungaroring and was on provisional 2nd, just 0.070s between him and Piastri in first. Another piece of evidence prooving the new updates for the Aston Martins are certainly working.
With the clock ticking down, times started to tighten, and many top drivers were in trouble. The biggest surprise was Verstappen having to use his second set of soft tires as he risked not even making it to Q2.
In the end, Verstappen made it, but his Red Bull colleague Yuki Tsunoda didn’t, being the first eliminated in 16th. He was followed by Pierre Gasly in 17th, Esteban Ocon in 18th, Nico Hulkenberg in 19th, and a surprising Alex Albon last with a car that clearly could’ve aimed higher.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 16. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +0.024s |
| 17. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Renault Alpine | +0.091s |
| 18. | 18 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +0.148s |
| 19. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | +0.206s |
| 20. | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams | +0.348s |
The F1 Hungarian Grand Prix will begin on Sunday, Aug. 3, at 9:00 a.m. ET. Television coverage in the United States will be provided by ESPN.
