Norris outduels Ferraris for Hungarian GP pole

Defending world champion Lando Norris claimed his first grand prix pole position of the season after pipping Lewis Hamilton for the fastest time in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton, however, will face an investigation for impeding Oscar Piastri late in Q3 that could lead to a grid drop.

The battle for pole boiled down to the two British drivers, with Hamilton leading the way after the first runs of Q3, preparing the ground for what could have been a record-extending 10th pole position in Budapest with a 0.101s advantage over Norris.

In unusual scenes, however, all but two drivers failed to improve with their final flying laps on the hot and slippery Hungaroring, with surface temperatures peaking at 122 degrees F.

Unfortunately for Hamilton, who was first to complete his final lap and confirm there were no more gains to be had, Norris was one of those two drivers.

A superbly judged flying lap, complete with a purple middle sector, hauled Norris to a best time of 1m17.207s to beat Hamilton by just 0.012s, the narrowest grand prix pole margin of the season to date.

“We seemed quick from the first laps we did, and we brought a few upgrades,” he said. “Very happy to be back on top, especially at a track where you certainly want to be on pole.

“The car’s been feeling good. I had good confidence. I certainly pushed it a little bit more on the last lap – some paid off, some didn’t but the main thing is we did it in the end. I’m very, very pleased for the team. A big thanks to them for working so hard.”

Hamilton, who took his previous pole position in Budapest in 2023, was disappointed to be denied by such a small margin after what he felt was an imperfectly executed Q3.

“We’ve been doing a great job all weekend,” he said. “I felt solid throughout qualifying.

“We went out first, which I don’t think was the right call, but then on top of that, the grip for some reason wasn’t there on the last lap. We were quickest throughout qualifying, so it definitely got away from us.”

Hamilton will see the stewards after the session after appearing to impede Piastri at the first turn late in Q3.

Charles Leclerc qualified third for a Ferrari two-three, but the 2025 Budapest pole-sitter was 0.238s off the pace and not in the same league as the top two.

“Qualifying has been quite messy, to be honest,” he said. “The pace was never to the level of Lewis. It was all about trying to maximize today, and I felt I kind of did it.”

Title leader Kimi Antonelli was the only other driver to improve, but he encountered yellow flags for the spun-out Max Verstappen at the final corner on his final lap, restricting how much he could gain and leaving him 0.272s off the pace on a day Mercedes nonetheless never really looked in the mix for the front row.

Antonelli will see the stewards after the session too over a potential yellow flag infringement.

Piastri was fifth after appearing to be blocked by Hamilton at the first turn of his final flying lap, leaving him 0.477s slower than his pole-getting teammate. Verstappen qualified sixth and 0.518s off the pace after losing control of his car at the final corner.

George Russell will start seventh after qualifying 0.553s off the pace in the second Mercedes, beating Red Bull Racing’s Isack Hadjar to the place.

Arvid Lindblad’s fourth consecutive Q3 appearance earned the Racing Bulls driver ninth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in 10th in the Audi driver’s second top-10 qualification of the season.

Hulkenberg second Q3 of the season, Audi second Q3 in succession

Liam Lawson admitted his final attempt to escape Q2 was “such a bad lap” and that his Racing Bulls car was “so hard to drive” on his way to 11th, 0.126s outside a top-10 berth.

Alpine teammates Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto qualified 12th and 13th ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, who completed only one lap in Q2 that left him almost half a second outside the top 10.

Esteban Ocon qualified 15th ahead of Fernando Alonso, who made Aston Martin’s first Q2 appearance of the season in his heavily upgraded car, lapping 2.4s off the pace of the segment.

Oliver Bearman was squeezed out of Q1 by 0.107s, putting him 17th on the grid after being outqualified by Haas teammate Ocon for just the third time this season.

Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were closely matched at 2.3s and 2.4s off the pace respectively, leaving them a dejected 19th and 20th and confused about their troubled car’s unpredictable behavior.

“That’s terrible,” a baffled Albon lamented. “Why is the balance changing so much?”

Lance Stroll couldn’t muster teammate Alonso’s Q2 efforts after having missed almost all of Friday practice to a suspension failure and a lack of spares, qualifying 20th and 2.4s off the pace.

Aston Martin’s leap forward left Cadillac anchored to the back row of the grid for the first time this season, with Valtteri Bottas 2.6s off the pace and Sergio Perez a further 0.4s adrift.

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