Hungary - Qualifying

After a two-week break following the triple-header, Formula One is back. And what is the next stop of the European leg of the season? The picturesque Hungary. The buildup to the race weekend brought with it some more news relating to the ever-changing driver's market: Kevin Magnussen announced that he will not be Oliver Bearman's teammate in the 2025 season.

The three-part qualifying was set to start at 16:00 local time. A few minutes before the cars were allowed to drive out of the pit lane, the viewers gathered on the grandstands were seen putting away their umbrellas. The session didn't start with rain falling on track, but the Hungaroring wasn't exactly dry. Once the drivers were allowed to leave their garages, they reported that the conditions allowed for the use of slick tires. 

The relative peace of Q1 was disturbed pretty early on by William's Sargeant. The American started the session quite well, putting himself in the provisional top 10. Unfortunately, he went deep into turn 1. His left front tire made contact with the wall. The car didn't sustain any significant damage and he was able to rejoin qualifying and pass through to Q2. Another disturbance came soon after, this one much more serious. As he did in Silverstone two weeks before, Perez lost control of his car and hit the barrier. The accident looked dangerous but, thankfully, the driver was unharmed. The same couldn't be said about his car. His Red Bull needed to be removed by the crew working around the track, removing the Mexican driver from the rest of the qualifying. His incident brought out a red flag, momentarily stopping the session. 

It was resumed at 16:22 local time. Between the time the drivers left the track and the time they were allowed back onto it, slight rain fell onto the track, slightly altering the conditions. With only a few minutes left, the drivers knew they couldn't waste any more time. Even though they needed to be extra careful at the slightly damp track, they still managed to set some of the quickest times of the weekend. Q1 ended with two big surprises. The first one was the man who managed to set the quickest time: RB's Daniel Ricciardo. The second, a heartbreak for all Mercedes' fans was George Russel's unexpectedly early elimination. He didn't make it through to the second part of qualifying and neither did Zhou, Ocon, Gasly, and Perez. 

Sainz was the first to set the time in Q2. His name adorned the top of the leaderboard for only a short while: Verstappen knocked him down with an impressive time of 1:15:700. It was the the first sub 1:16 time of the weekend. Ricciardo opted for a risky strategy: he did not drive out with the other drivers to set a competitive time in the first half of Q2. As a result of this, with only 3 minutes left to go, he still did not have a time on the board. 

In the end, Norris was the only driver able to beat impressive time. Hamilton's fans could surely feel their heartbeats racing when he found himself in P10, with three cards still in the middle of their final laps. He made it through by the skin of his teeth: Hulkenberg, the man in P11, was only 0.01s slower than the Brit. Bottas, Albon, Sargeant, and Magnussen made up the rest of the elimination zone. 

Before Q3 began, the drivers and the viewers were informed that rain was expected before the end of the session. Norris set the time to beat, an impressive 1:15:2. Piastri was right behind him. It started drizzling just as the drivers were getting ready for another wave of push laps. Still, some improvements were seen. The session, just like Q1, was interrupted by a red flag. It was brought out by Yuki Tsunoda who hit the barrier by turn 5. His RB suffered significant damage but the driver quickly reported that he was alright. Q3 was stopped with 2:13 on the clock and the stewards decided that the session would be resumed. Their decision didn't change anything in the standings as most drivers either didn't get to start a lap or backed out before they could finish it. For the first time in 12 years, McLaren achieved a front row lockup with Norris getting his 3rd career pole, and Piastri proudly finishing second. 

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris 

2. Oscar Piastri

3. Max Verstappen

4. Carlos Sainz

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Charles Leclerc

7. Fernando Alonso

8. Lance Stroll

9. Daniel Ricciardo

10. Yuki Tsunoda

11. Nico Hulkenberg

12. Valtteri Bottas

13. Alex Albon

14. Logan Sargeant

15. Kevin Magnussen

16. Sergio Perez

17. George Russel

18. Zhou Guanyu

19. Esteban Ocon

20. Pierre Gasly