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Int'l Business Times
26 minutes ago
- Int'l Business Times
Leclerc Ends Ferrari Barren Run With Stunning Pole Ahead Of McLarens
Charles Leclerc ended Ferrari's barren qualifying run this year with a stunning late lap on Saturday to beat both McLarens and claim his first pole of the season for the Italian team at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The 27-year-old Monegasque went late in the final minutes of a closely-contested session to clock a best lap in one minute and 15.372 seconds in changing conditions, leaving his rivals frustrated as they failed to improve on their first run times. "I definitely didn't expect that and honestly I just don't have any words for this. It's one of my best poles and the most unexpected," said Leclerc. He took pole by 0.026 seconds ahead of series leader Oscar Piastri and by 0.041sec ahead of the Australian's McLaren team-mate and title rival Lando Norris, with George Russell 0.053sec adrift in a breathtakingly close finish. It was Leclerc's first pole of the year, his first in Budapest and the 27th of his career. It was Ferrari's first pole in Hungary since Sebastian Vettel in 2017. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fifth ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll, the pair enjoying their best qualifying of the season, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto seventh ahead of Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen and the two Racing Bulls rookies Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. "Wow, whooaw!, Mama Mia!" exclaimed Leclerc, who had on Thursday described the Hungaroring as his worst track of the season. "Today, I don't understand anything about F1. The whole of qualifying has been so extremely difficult - and I am not exaggerating," he said. Piastri blamed a change of wind direction. "It basically did a 180 degrees from Q1 to Q3. It always seems pathetic, blaming the wind." The Q1 segment began with clouds looming in a sunny sky and hot conditions with temperatures of 31 degrees (air) and 52 (track), falling as it became more overcast. The Williams duo were first out on softs, Alex Albon clocking 1:17.441 to set the pace. Carlos Sainz locked up and returned to the pits as McLaren and Red Bull joined the action, Piastri dipping his left wheels into the gravel at Turn 12 as he went top, three-tenths clear of Norris and Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari. Verstappen was only 13th after the opening runs with Yuki Tsunoda 17th, clear confirmation of Red Bull's struggle for balance and pace while Aston Martin went late, as the track temperature fell 10 degrees, and Alonso went top in 1:15.281. The cooler track brought sharp improvements in a late reshuffle that saw Piastri top in 1:15.211 ahead of Alonso and Racing Bulls' rookie Isack Hadjar. Hamilton was 10th and Verstappen 11th. Tsunoda led the five eliminated ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon of Haas, Sauber's Nico Hulkeberg and Alex Albon of Williams. Rain began to fall at Turn Six, sending anxiety up the pit lane as they queued to start Q2. Alonso set the pace before Norris clocked 1:14.890 to go top, with Piastri second, the pair separated by 0.05. The first run left Leclerc 10th and Hamilton 11th, with work to do. Verstappen was eighth as the rain stopped ahead of the final runs and he stayed there, six-tents adrift, while Leclerc secured his passage to Q3 in sixth. Hamilton exited in 12th, his worst-ever qualifying position at the Hungaroring where he has claimed a record nine poles, along with Oliver Bearman of Haas, Sainz, Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Mercedes' rookie Kimi Antonelli. It was cooler still as Q3 began as the McLarens dominated with Piastri ahead of Norris by 0.096 and Russell third while Stroll had his lap deleted for exceeding track limits. Stroll and Alonso went early for their final runs, slotting in fourth and second, the Spaniard just 0.083 behind Piastri's first run before Leclerc snatched pole in the final seconds with his beautifully-judged late lap. Ferrari's British driver Lewis Hamilton had his worst-ever qualifying position in 12th at the Hungaroring where he has claimed a record nine poles AFP
Irish Examiner
27 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Leclerc take surprise pole for Ferrari in Budapest
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took a surprise pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix - as team-mate Lewis Hamilton could manage only 12th. Championship leader Oscar Piastri and title rival Lando Norris had been expected to fight for pole but the McLaren men were left to settle for second and third respectively. Leclerc saw off Piastri by just 0.026 seconds with Norris only 0.015 sec behind the Australian. George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes. McLaren had dominated all weekend at the Hungaroring with Norris fastest in both sessions on Friday, and Piastri - who leads his team-mate by 16 points in the world championship - quickest in the concluding running prior to qualifying. But Leclerc pulled a mighty lap out of the bag to secure both his and Ferrari's first pole of the season. The Monegasque said: "Today, I don't understand anything in Formula One. Honestly, the whole qualifying was extremely difficult. When I say extremely difficult, it's not exaggerating. "It was difficult for us to get to Q2, it was difficult for us to get to Q3. In Q3, the conditions changed a little bit. Everything became a lot trickier, and I knew I just had to do a clean lap to target third. "At the end of the day, it's pole position. I definitely did not expect that. Honestly, I have no words. It's probably one of the best pole positions I've ever had. It's the most unexpected, for sure." In the other scarlet car, Hamilton has a record eight wins and nine pole positions in Hungary. However, a week after he qualified only 16th at Spa-Francorchamps, he suffered another setback when he was knocked out of Q2. Hamilton has now been outqualified by Leclerc at 10 of the 14 rounds so far. "Every time, every time," said the British driver after he was informed of his early exit. Hamilton emerged from his cockpit and walked towards the Ferrari motorhome holding his gloves in front of his visor to obstruct the full glare of the waiting TV cameras. Hamilton's lowly grid slot looks set to extend his run without a podium finish to 14 races. Until this season he had never gone more than 10 races into a campaign without finishing in the top three. Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes, the teenager Kimi Antonelli, has only scored once in his last seven appearances and he too failed to make it out of Q2, qualifying 15th. Aston Martin have been woefully out of sorts this year and are eighth in the constructors' standings. Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to make it out of Q1 at the previous round. However, Alonso - who turned 44 earlier this week - and Stroll progressed to the final phase on Saturday, and will start fifth and sixth respectively. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen qualified eighth for Red Bull. Alex Albon has enjoyed a strong season - he finished sixth last weekend - but he will line up from the back of the pack here after qualifying 20th and last. Yuki Tsunoda was also eliminated in Q1 for the fifth time this season, leaving him 16th on the grid.
The Herald Scotland
27 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Charles Leclerc edges out McLarens to claim pole position in Hungary
Leclerc saw off Piastri by just 0.026 seconds with Norris only 0.015 sec behind the Australian. George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes. McLaren had dominated all weekend at the Hungaroring with Norris fastest in both sessions on Friday, and Piastri – who leads his team-mate by 16 points in the world championship – quickest in the concluding running prior to qualifying. But Leclerc pulled a mighty lap out of the bag to secure both his and Ferrari's first pole of the season. The Monegasque said: 'Today, I don't understand anything in Formula One. Honestly, the whole qualifying was extremely difficult. When I say extremely difficult, it's not exaggerating. 'It was difficult for us to get to Q2, it was difficult for us to get to Q3. In Q3, the conditions changed a little bit. Everything became a lot trickier, and I knew I just had to do a clean lap to target third. 'At the end of the day, it's pole position. I definitely did not expect that. Honestly, I have no words. It's probably one of the best pole positions I've ever had. It's the most unexpected, for sure.' In the other scarlet car, Hamilton has a record eight wins and nine pole positions in Hungary. However, a week after he qualified only 16th at Spa-Francorchamps, he suffered another setback when he was knocked out of Q2. Hamilton has now been outqualified by Leclerc at 10 of the 14 rounds so far. 'Every time, every time,' said the British driver after he was informed of his early exit. Hamilton emerged from his cockpit and walked towards the Ferrari motorhome holding his gloves in front of his visor to obstruct the full glare of the waiting TV cameras. Hamilton's lowly grid slot looks set to extend his run without a podium finish to 14 races. Until this season he had never gone more than 10 races into a campaign without finishing in the top three. Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes, the teenager Kimi Antonelli, has only scored once in his last seven appearances and he too failed to make it out of Q2, qualifying 15th. Qualifying was a struggle for Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton (Bradley Collyer/PA) Aston Martin have been woefully out of sorts this year and are eighth in the constructors' standings. Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to make it out of Q1 at the previous round. However, Alonso – who turned 44 earlier this week – and Stroll progressed to the final phase on Saturday, and will start fifth and sixth respectively. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen qualified eighth for Red Bull. Alex Albon has enjoyed a strong season – he finished sixth last weekend – but he will line up from the back of the pack here after qualifying 20th and last. Yuki Tsunoda was also eliminated in Q1 for the fifth time this season, leaving him 16th on the grid.
