The British driver Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) took first place on the starting grid of the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix this Saturday, the 11th round of the season, and became the driver with the most pole positions on the same circuit (nine).
Hamilton, who rolled in 1.16.609 minutes, snatched first place on the grid from the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by just three thousandths and already at the end of the day. Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) was third, 0.085 seconds behind his compatriot.
This session marked the introduction of a new format in qualifying, in which drivers were required to use hard tires in the first stage (Q1), medium tires in the second stage (Q2) and soft tires in the third stage (Q3).
“It’s so good to be here because the team has worked so hard. I didn’t expect to fight for pole position,” Hamilton told US driver Danica Patrick, who was responsible for the podium interviews.
The British driver did not avoid tears inside the car, since he had not started from the first place on the grid for a year and a half (since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP).
“It’s been a roller coaster but none of us have lost faith. We’ve tried to get the car back on track. But it’s been tough,” Hamilton admitted.
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 Formula 1 pole position, representing the all-time record for the sport.
Max Verstappen admitted that he felt “a lot of difficulties to find the balance of the car”.
The defending champion set the fastest time in the first of two attempts in Q3, but in the second 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 place as he felt “he could be on 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 like I made too many mistakes, ”he lamented.
Australian Óscar Piastri (McLaren) was fourth fastest, but already 0.296 seconds behind first, with Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) fifth, 0.362 seconds behind.
On Sunday, Lewis Hamilton is also looking to take his ninth victory in Hungary and become the first driver with that many wins at the same circuit.
Currently, the Briton shares a record with the German Michael Schumacher, who won the French GP eight times, the same number of victories that Hamilton has in Hungary and Great Britain.
In addition to Hamilton, only the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) had managed to steal a ‘pole position’ from Red Bull this year, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Today, the Monegasque rider was sixth.
Also note the 13th place of the Australian Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) on his return to competition, replacing the Dutchman Nick de Vries, who was fired after the British GP.
With 10 races already played, Max Verstappen leads the championship, with 255 points, 99 more than the Mexican Sérgio Pérez (Red Bull), who is second in the championship and who will start on Sunday from ninth place.
Source: TSF
