Lando Norris just snatched his first grand prix pole position of the season in Hungary, beating Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by an insane 0.012 seconds with the absolute final lap of the session. Talk about a clutch move! Hamilton had looked good, fastest on his first runs by over 0.1 seconds from Norris, but neither the seven-time champ nor his teammate Charles Leclerc could improve when it mattered most.
Chaos on the Track: Verstappen’s Spin and Mercedes’ Woes
The end of qualifying was pure madness, all kicked off by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spinning at the final corner. Are you kidding me? This four-time champion’s error messed with Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, forcing them to slow down, and ultimately pushing them to fourth and seventh, respectively. Verstappen did get going again before Norris came around to lock in that pole in his upgraded McLaren. Hamilton’s second run was a full second slower than his first, and he’s now facing an investigation for allegedly impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at Turn One. Antonelli also landed himself with the stewards for a yellow-flag infringement. Verstappen, even after railing on the radio about his Red Bull’s unpredictable handling, still managed to snag sixth, ahead of Russell, Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad, and Nico Hulkenberg. What a wild session.
Alonso’s Breakthrough and the Team’s Hope
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso delivered a major breakthrough for Aston Martin on a weekend where they debuted their virtually new car. He actually broke out of the first session for the first time this season! Alonso will start 16th, almost three seconds off pole, but that’s two seconds faster in relative pace than they’ve seen in ages. The veteran Spaniard, who turns 45 next week, is feeling “relieved a little bit,” telling BBC Radio 5 Live that the team finally understood the car’s weaknesses. He’s got optimism, saying, “definitely there is a change in optimism in the factory and I feel optimistic.” Alonso has a big decision this summer about continuing his career, even if he has no doubts about Adrian Newey leading the team to future success. He just isn’t sure if it’ll happen soon enough for him. All the drivers were battling a breaking-up track surface, especially in the final two corners, where Norris called the grip “especially difficult.” Russell even had a water leak spraying water onto his rear tyres on his final run. Antonelli felt P3 was “on the table” but admitted it wasn’t good enough for pole.
What a setup for race day! Can Norris hold his nerve and convert that pole into a win? Will Hamilton overcome his investigation and fight back through the field? And can Alonso keep this new Aston Martin moving forward? We’re about to find out, and it’s gonna be epic!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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