Lando Norris took pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri taking second spot in an action-packed qualifying session.
The Brit finished 0.022 seconds ahead of his Australian partner and 0.046 in front of Formula 1’s championship leader Max Verstappen.
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Grid chasing Norris in Hungary after Friday sessions
It is a third career pole for Norris and a first one-two for McLaren in qualifying since 2012.
Budapest threw up some tricky conditions on Saturday afternoon, with rainy spells affecting the track and making it damp in places, particularly for the first session.
The likes of Lewis Hamilton – who qualified fifth – thrived early on but dropped off as the sun emerged and the track dried up.
It was P4 for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and P6 for Charles Leclerc.
The Prancing Horses have looked better than their last outing at Silverstone following some more upgrades to the car.
George Russell and Sergio Perez were shock early exits in Hungary.
LANDO NORRIS LANDS A THIRD CAREER POLE POSITION!
A special lap when it mattered, he starts from P1 in Budapest 🧡#F1 #HUNGARIANGP PIC.TWITTER.COM/QVHHLLFWXR
— Formula 1 (@F1) JULY 20, 2024
The former made a mistake on his final flying lap, relegating him to 17th on the grid, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez had another crash, raising even more questions about his future with the constructors’ champions.
Yuki Tsunoda brought out a late red flag with about two minutes left of qualifying.
Every driver had already set their fastest lap by that point, although some of them opted to give it one more go when the green light was switched back on.
Once again, Verstappen’s Red Bull proved not to be the quickest car on the grid, but the Dutchman believes he still has a shot of winning the race on Sunday.
He said: “I tried, the whole weekend we have been a little bit behind, and I think that was also the case in qualifying.
“I tried to make it as close as possible but unfortunately just not enough, a bit difficult to pin point why that is, I would of liked a bit more grip but it’s not there at the moment.
“P3 is still very close but I just hope that for tomorrow the car is good tomorrow in the race and at least we can follow them and see what we can do there.”
Qualifying 🤝 FP3
The same top three twice today – Lando, Oscar, Max#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/U6b9Pj8Nck
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 20, 2024
Norris experienced heartbreak at his home Grand Prix in Britain a few weeks ago, but looks hungry in Hungary to bounce back and claim his second-ever victory in F1.
He says he is happy with the car and believes McLaren have the best possible chance of winning in Budapest.
He said: “I am very very happy, not an easy qualifying, different conditions, always ending up on top, it’s the best part of it all.
“I’m happy especially for the team, a one-two is even better to see so congrats to the team.
“We are in the best position for whatever the conditions throw at us, I’m looking forward to it.
“Two cars on the front row, we can control it from there so as long as we stay where we are, we will be happy.
“I’m expecting to [do well], if I don’t it’s not been a good day. The car is doing well, I feel like I’m driving well so it’s obvious what the aim is for tomorrow.”
The Hungarian Grand Prix will get underway at 2pm on Sunday in what will be the penultimate race before the summer break.
