Hungarian Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc grabs pole for Ferrari after Hamilton flops again
George Russell was fourth for Mercedes and Fernando Alonso in fifth for Aston Martin. There was huge disappointment for Lewis Hamilton, however, with the seven-times champion knocked out in 13th place during Q2, despite showing good pace in practice.
The pole, Ferrari's first of the year, is a major step for the team after a difficult first half of the season, demonstrating that the rear suspension upgrade, aimed at addressing the car's weakness through the slow corners, has been effective.
Leclerc told Sky Sports: 'The whole qualifying has been extremely difficult and when I say that I'm not exaggerating. It was super difficult for us to get to Q2 and Q3, in Q3 the conditions changed a little bit and everything became a lot trickier and I knew I had to just do a clean lap to target third. At the end of the day it's pole position and I definitely did not expect that.'
Leclerc has always shown fearsome pace in qualifying, this is his 27th pole in his eighth season, but it is converting it on Sunday that matters and tcrucially Ferrari must now deliver.
On the first runs in Q3, Norris set the early pace quickest through every sector, only to be matched by a charging Piastri with a time of 1min 15.398sec, just nine-hundredths of a second in front of his teammate.
With spots of rain beginning to fall, the track temperature dropping and a sudden change of wind direction, Russell, Alonso and Leclerc found themselves in the mix for what was a tense final showdown.
Alonso showed great form to initially move up to second place. Leclerc followed him out to take the top spot, while Norris and Piastri could not improve. Leclerc claimed pole in 1: 15.372, the top four separated by just four-hundredths of a second.
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For Hamilton his frustration was clear. 'Every time. Every time,' he told the team on the radio after he went out. Lance Stroll was in sixth for Aston Martin, Gabriel Bortoleto seventh for Sauber, Max Verstappen eighth for Red Bull and Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar ninth and tenth for Racing Bulls.
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