F1 Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying Was a Real Heartstopper, a New Poleman Emerges

Short recap for those who haven't followed the action on TV or live in Mogyorod: George Russell dominated a wet practice session on Friday, outrunning Oscar Piastri and Lance Stroll, who were right behind him. FP2 looked completely different, with no rain in sight, and Charles Leclerc put down a solid lap of 1:17.686. He was slightly faster than Lando Norris, while Pierre Gasly came in third.

Free Practice Session 3

Of course, the results of FP1 and FP2 will never guarantee the outcome of FP3 and, more importantly, the qualifying session. The third practice session of the weekend had just started for a few minutes, and Max Verstappen was already in the zone, assuming the lead position with a 1:18.478 lap. Perez was 0.080 seconds behind, with Leclerc in third, and all were using Medium tires.

Verstappen was comfortable in P1 for about half an hour before Fernando Alonso set a faster lap. Norris would step in several minutes later, but his victory dance was short-lasted as Lewis Hamilton became the first and only driver to dip below the 1:18 mark for this session. With Verstappen and Perez in P2 and P3, seeing Nico Hulkenberg in P4 was somewhat surprising.

Lando Norris was just inches behind the Haas driver, and UK F1 fans must be ecstatic to see so many of their fellow compatriots so high up the ladder this year, as George Russel was the sixth fastest overall. The cloud of disappointment continued to float over the Italian side of the paddock as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished FP3 in P7 and P8, respectively.

Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas were the last drivers to make the Top 10. Despite driving for 29 laps, Yuki Tsunoda was the slowest competitor in the first part of Saturday, as he didn't even manage to dip below the 1:19 mark. But then again, there was still one more chance for him to be faster than Ricciardo during qualifying.

Change of Qualifying Rules

A new rule is in place for qualifying in F1, which will make things even more exciting than they already were. The new tire allocation format for qualifying means that everyone will have to go out on Hard tires for Q1, Medium tires in Q2, and Soft tires in Q3. Going into Q1, F1 officials also clarified that the Hungarian Grand Prix will be part of the calendar until 2032, which is excellent news for Eastern European fans.

Bottas was off to a great start in the first qualifying session, as he was the first driver to finish a lap in less than one minute and 19 seconds. You could almost feel the pressure in the air as race officials deleted several lap times for drivers that had exceeded the track limits. With eight minutes to go before the end of Q1, Verstappen took the lead with a 1:18.658 lap. Gasly soon followed him into P2, but things started getting hectic fast.

Perez was in the lead for a moment but got overtaken by Zhou Guanyu out of all people. The Mexican driver would have to settle for P3 in Q1, as his teammate was just 0.175 seconds slower than Alfa Romeo's pilot. Sainz and Leclerc were moving on to Q2 as well, and they were less than 0.3 seconds away from the leader. The difference between P1 and P18 was smaller than 0.8 seconds, which should indicate the high level of competition in F1.

Scuderia Alfa Tauri had a bitter-sweet session, as Tsunoda failed to advance to Q2, whereas Daniel Ricciardo just narrowly made it through. But perhaps no one was as upset about the outcome of Q1 as Toto Wolff, seeing that George Russell failed to save himself from being knocked out after dealing with heavy traffic on his fast lap. It is his worst qualifying result in 2023, and he will likely struggle to catch up to the lead drivers during the main event.

Second Qualifying Session

But let's move on to Q2, as drivers could switch to the Medium tires for better lap times. With 12 minutes to go, Perez was on top of the scoreboard with a fast lap of 1:17.675. He hasn't reached Q3 in the past five races, and there was also that crash in FP1 on the back of his mind. Of course, Max Verstappen didn't take long to set the rhythm and was almost 0.4 seconds faster than his teammate.

But he had exceeded the track limits, and suddenly Mclaren had two drivers sitting in P1 and P2. While that's not entirely unexpected on Lando Norris's behalf, you must admire Oscar Piastri's determination and skills, given he is still a rookie in F1. The Flying Dutchman had to get back into the game, and despite going for a safe lap, that was still good enough to have him sitting in P2 behind Mclaren's ace driver. The end of Q2 had everyone on the edge of their seats as drivers fought for a spot in Q3 until the last moment.

Hamilton delivered a ray of hope for Mercedes as he demoted Verstappen to P3. Zhou was ninth fastest this time, but Alfa Romeo now had Valtteri Bottas sitting in P4! Piastri was faster than Leclerc, and Hulkenberg was faster than Perez, which is not something you'd see usually. With Alonso in P10, the other Spaniard in the game didn't make it into Q3. Carlos Sainz was just 0.002 seconds slower than Alonso, and Fredric Vasseur must have been quite upset about that. It's the first time in 2023 that Sainz can't move on past Q2, which puts him in a difficult spot for the main event.

As soon as Q3 started, Perez was again on top of the game, crossing the finish line in 1:17.142. But Lando Norris seems to be on fire this weekend, as he claimed P1 with a 1:16.94. Fernando Alonso was right on his tail, but they were no match for the Verstappen-Hamilton duo, who continued to set the bar even higher. The last few seconds of Q3 felt almost as exciting as the main event, as Lewis Hamilton claimed Pole Position, his ninth at the Hungarian Grand Prix!

A New Poleman Emerges

He was 0.003 seconds faster than the Dutchman, which reminds me of Toretto's famous words, "It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or by a mile; winning's winning." Hamilton has been through tough times lately, with no wins in the past 20 months.

But this is a historic moment for him, as he is now the driver with the most Pole Positions at the same Grand Prix. Previously, he was tied with Senna (San Marino Grand Prix) and Schumacher (Japanese Grand Prix), scoring eight poles. Lando Norris will be third on the grid for the main event, while Oscar Piastri is down in fourth.

Zhou Guanyu and Charles Leclerc weren't fast behind, while Valtteri Bottas was faster than Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez! It's so lovely to see the Finnish driver back with the big guys, and we can't help but think that there will be a party in the Alfa Romeo box tonight.

But obviously, the question on everyone's mind right now is: Can anyone stop Verstappen from winning his seventh consecutive race this year? From the looks of it, it's either down to Hamilton or Norris to achieve that performance, but wouldn't it be stunning if Rookie driver Oscar Piastri scored his first F1 victory by the end of this weekend?