F1: Lewis Hamilton Storms To Surprising Pole Position In Hungarian GP

7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton managed to pip reigning world champion Max Verstappen by 0.003 seconds in qualifying for the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. Verstappen, who has dominated this season with his all-conquering Red Bull RB19, claimed he struggled for balance all weekend. His teammate Sergio Perez had another disappointing qualifying, managing only 9th ahead of Haas's Nico Hulkenberg.

The session was strong for the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who took 3rd and 4th. Norris topped Q1 and Q2 before being overtaken by Verstappen and then Hamilton. This validates the new B-spec update McLaren introduced at the Austrian GP, which also yielded good results at Silverstone. The surprise was Alfa Romeo, with Zhou Guanyu coming 5th ahead of engine supplier Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who could only manage 6th in Q3. Carlos Sainz got knocked out in Q2, qualifying 11th.

Hamilton's former teammate Valtteri Bottas took 7th for Alfa Romeo, while Fernando Alonso managed 8th in the Aston Martin - their third below-par qualifying session in a row.

Daniel Ricciardo's return to AlphaTauri was a big story, as he took 13th in his first session back, getting the slowest car on the grid to Q2. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda didn't make Q2, qualifying 17th.

It was another disappointing session for Alpine's Esteban Ocon in 12th and Pierre Gasly in 15th, on a weekend where the team lost CEO Laurent Rossi. Lance Stroll also missed out on Q3, qualifying 14th. Alexander Albon took 16th for Williams, with teammate Logan Sargeant propping up the times in 20th.

The shock was George Russell exiting in Q1, qualifying 18th - in stark contrast to Hamilton’s pole. Kevin Magnussen took 19th for Haas.

While Verstappen has dominated in 2022, Hamilton's Hungarian GP pole gives him renewed hope of challenging again at a circuit where he has won eight times before. Mercedes still seems to lack race pace but Hamilton's lap shows the team may be slowly recovering their form.

1. Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes 1:16.609

2. Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing +0.003

3. Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.085

4. Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.296

5. Guanyu ZHOU Alfa Romeo +0.362

6. Charles LECLERC Ferrari +0.383

7. Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo +0.425 6

8. Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +0.426

9. Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +0.436

10. Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team +0.577

11. Carlos SAINZ Ferrari 1:17.703

12. Esteban OCON Alpine 1:17.841

13. Daniel RICCIARDO AlphaTauri 1:18.002

14. Lance STROLL Aston Martin 1:18.144

15. Pierre GASLY Alpine 1:18.217

16. Alexander ALBON William 1:18.917

17. Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri 1:18.929

18. George RUSSELL Mercedes 1:19.081

19. Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team 1:19.206

20. Logan SARGEANT Williams 1:19.248

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