NORRIS TAKES HUNGARIAN GP POLE BY JUST A FRACTION OVER HAMILTON
Lando Norris ended Mercedes’ qualifying advantage at the Hungarian Grand Prix by taking pole position at the Hungaroring. The McLaren driver beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012 seconds in a dramatic final session, where yellow flags and possible penalties played a major role.
The qualifying session started with a close fight at the front after Ferrari had shown strong pace during Friday. Norris confirmed the performance seen in FP3 by leading the first part of qualifying, while Ferrari chose a different strategy by using Medium tyres during Q1 with both cars.
Fernando Alonso was one of the surprises of the first session, as Aston Martin finally showed signs of improvement with its updated package. The Spaniard reached Q2 for the first time this season, while Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were eliminated.
In Q2, Hamilton showed strong pace on Soft tyres and temporarily moved to the top of the standings ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. A yellow flag caused by Isack Hadjar’s spin interrupted some drivers’ final attempts, but Norris and both Ferraris recovered in the final moments to secure their places in Q3.
The final session became a battle between McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. Hamilton looked like the favourite after the first runs, setting a strong lap that put him ahead of Norris by around one tenth. Charles Leclerc was third, while Antonelli was fourth.
The decisive moment came during the final attempts. Verstappen spun at the final corner, causing a yellow flag that affected several drivers, while George Russell later stopped at Turn 1 due to a hydraulic issue and created another yellow flag.
Despite the difficult conditions, Norris delivered the fastest lap with a 1:17.207 to claim pole position. Hamilton missed out by only 12 milliseconds, while Leclerc completed the top three for Ferrari. Antonelli qualified fourth ahead of Oscar Piastri, Verstappen and Russell.
Isack Hadjar took eighth place, followed by Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, who completed the top ten.
After qualifying, the session remained under investigation, with Hamilton facing a possible penalty for impeding and Antonelli also being investigated for a potential yellow flag infringement. The final grid could therefore change before Sunday’s race.
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