British driver Lando Norris (McLaren) took pole position this Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix of Formula 1, the 13th round of the world championship.
Norris set his best lap of 1:15.227 minutes, beating teammate Oscar Piastri (McLaren) in second by 0.022 seconds and Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in third by 0.046 seconds.
It was the third pole position of Lando Norris’ career, having already achieved it at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix and this year’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The session started with a wet track and the drivers on intermediate tyres, but the asphalt dried out, allowing the records to improve significantly.
It was into this “trap” that Briton George Russell (Mercedes) found himself, leaving the track with little fuel and being forced to return to the pits before the end of the first stage (Q1), eventually retiring early.
The final stage (Q3) was also uneven, with Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda (RB) crashing with two minutes remaining in the session, causing a red flag to be brought out to halt proceedings.
When the rain returned, grip conditions worsened and only Daniel Ricciardo (RB) managed to improve his time, finishing ninth ahead of Tsunoda.
Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) didn’t even leave the pits.
“I’m very pleased. It was a tough qualifying. I’m happy, especially for the team that got the one-two. We came to this race to fight for pole and that’s what we did,” said Lando Norris, who admitted he was “in control” with two cars in the first two positions on the grid.
Champion Max Verstappen admitted that “throughout the weekend” Red Bull were “always a little bit behind” their rivals.
“I like competition, but I prefer to be first,” said the Dutchman.
While the top three finished just 0.46 seconds apart, fourth, Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), was almost half a second behind, 0.469 seconds behind the pole position holder.
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who won the previous race in Britain, was only fifth with a result of 0.627.
Verstappen, a three-time world champion, leads the drivers’ standings with 255 points, 84 more than Norris in second.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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