Oscar Piastri Explains What Caught Him Out During Hungarian GP Qualifying
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McLaren Racing Formula One driver Oscar Piastri was surprised by the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying result after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set a fastest time of 1:15.372, securing his first pole position of the season. This dropped Piastri to P2.
The qualifying session at the Hungaroring saw several surprises in Q3. Both Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, secured P5 and P6 in their AMR 25 F1 cars. Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto made it to P7, followed by Max Verstappen in P8. Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar will start the race in P9 and P10.
Piastri, who has secured four pole positions thus far, was surprised to be outqualified by a Ferrari. Speaking after the qualifying session at the Hungaroring, he said:
"I think the wind changed a lot. It always sounds so pathetic blaming things on the wind. It did a 180 from Q2 to Q3 and meant a lot of the corners felt completely different.
Second placed qualifier Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren and Third placed qualifier Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren talk in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at...
Second placed qualifier Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren and Third placed qualifier Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren talk in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on August 02, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. More"It was difficult to judge in those conditions and maybe not the best execution. I was surprised we couldn't go quicker than that.
"Second is still a decent spot to start so we'll see what we can do tomorrow.
"Charles has been quick all weekend and this morning he was closer than we expected.
"Things just changed a little bit. He did a very good job and well done to him. I wasn't expecting to be second to a Ferrari this weekend.
"It's going to be a fun race tomorrow with a bit more involved."
Leclerc was surprised by the result too, given the struggles he faced in the entire session. He said:
"Today, I don't understand anything at Formula 1. Honestly, the whole qualifying has been 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.
"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.
"I could definitely feel it (the grip change) a lot, and I was also on the lower side of the downforce, so when the rain started in Q2, I was just hoping that it wouldn't stay there. It didn't, the conditions changed which made everything very tricky, and at the end, we are on pole position.
"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."
When asked about his expectations of winning the race, Leclerc said:
"The start and Turn 1 will be key. I have no idea how it will go, but one thing for sure is that I'll do absolutely everything in order to keep that first place. If we manage to do that, that should make our life easier for the rest of the race."
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