British driver Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) took first place on the starting grid this Saturday for the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Hungary, the 11th round of the season, to become the driver with the most poles on the same track (nine).
Hamilton, who ran in 1,16,609 minutes, stole first place on the grid from Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by just three thousandths at the end of the day. Britain’s Lando Norris (McLaren) was third, 0.085 seconds behind his compatriot.
This session marked the introduction of a new format for qualifying, requiring drivers to use hard tires on the first leg (Q1), medium tires on the second leg (Q2) and soft tires on the third leg (Q3)..
“It’s so good to be here because the team has worked so hard. I didn’t expect to be fighting for pole,” Hamilton explained to American driver Danica Patrick, in charge of the podium interviews.
The British driver did not avoid tears while still in the car, as he had not started from first on the grid for a year and a half (since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP).
“It’s been a rollercoaster, but none of us have lost confidence. We tried to get the car back on track. But it was tough,” admitted Hamilton.
The former world champion also said there were “big differences in the car with the different tyres” but “the soft ones worked well”.
This was Lewis Hamilton’s 104th pole position in Formula 1, which represents the all-time record for the sport.
Max Verstappen admitted that he had “a lot of trouble finding the balance of the car”.
The defending champion set the fastest time on the first of two attempts in Q3, but the second time he forced a fast lap made some mistakes and spent 20 thousandths more than the first.
Lando Norris, on the other hand, was “disappointed” with third, feeling “he could be on the ‘pole'”, which was only 0.085 seconds away.
“The team did a good job and managed to put us in third and fourth place. But as a driver I feel I made too many mistakes,” he complained.
Australian Óscar Piastri (McLaren) was fourth fastest, but already 0.296 seconds behind first, with Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) in fifth, 0.362 seconds.
On Sunday, Lewis Hamilton is also looking to win his ninth win in Hungary and become the first driver with that number of wins at the same circuit.
Currently, the Briton shares the record with Germany’s Michael Schumacher, who won the French GP eight times, equaling Hamilton’s wins in Hungary and Great Britain.
Apart from Hamilton, only Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) had managed to steal a ‘pole position’ from Red Bull this year, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Today the Monegasque rider finished sixth.
Also note the 13th-place finish of Australian Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) on his return to competition, replacing Dutchman Nick de Vries, who was sacked after the British GP.
With 10 races already contested, Max Verstappen leads the championship with 255 points, 99 more than Mexican Sérgio Pérez (Red Bull), who is second in the championship and will start from ninth on Sunday.
Source: DN
