Image source, Getty ImagesMcLaren’s Lando Norris took his first grand prix pole position of the season in Hungary – but Lewis Hamilton was denied the chance to make it an all-British front row by a penalty for impeding.
A three-place penalty for blocking Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri has dropped Hamilton to fifth on the grid, and may have erased his chances of a ninth victory on a track he has almost made his own in his 20-year career.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who originally qualified fourth, was also given a three-place grid penalty for not slowing sufficiently under single yellow flags, following a spin for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the final corner.
The penalties mean Ferrari’s Charles Lelerc will now start second, Piastri third, Verstappen fourth and Hamilton fifth, with Mercedes’ George Russell sixth, a place ahead of team-mate Antonelli.
Hamilton had been fastest on the first runs, by just over 0.1secs from Norris, but neither the seven-time champion nor Leclerc could improve on their final attempts.
Verstappen’s error affected Antonelli and Russell, who were forced to slow, although in the Italian’s case the stewards decided it was not by enough.
Verstappen had got going again before Norris came around as the last driver on track to clinch pole in the upgraded McLaren by just 0.012 seconds.
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Norris said: “Very happy to be back on top, especially at a track where you certainly want to be on pole.
“I had confidence the whole of today. My laps in Q3 were not the best, even the one at the end, so pleasantly surprised to be on top.”
Hamilton was a second slower on his second run than on his first and was unhappy he had been sent out for it first.
“I had a clean out-lap, and when I started my lap, already into Turn One I had a snap and I was already 0.15secs down,” Hamilton said. “It just cascaded from there.
“So, the last lap was the worst lap of all, and all the other laps were really good. We clearly had the car to be on pole today, and I just didn’t deliver. So that’s tough to swallow.”
On the impeding scenario, Hamilton said he had not been warned of Piastri’s approach by the team: “I was told literally when he was at the apex behind me, so I had no idea he was coming.
“I was the first out, so I thought everyone had finished their lap. Charles, I think, was the car that was behind me when I left the pit lane, as far as I was aware. So, yeah, crazy, because it had been clean, and obviously it wasn’t intentional.”
Verstappen railed about the unpredictable handling of the Red Bull over the radio after his spin. His team-mate Isack Hadjar starts eighth, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Alonso ‘optimistic’ after progressing to Q2
Image source, Getty ImagesFernando Alonso made a major breakthrough for Aston Martin on the weekend they debuted their virtually new car by breaking out of the first session for the first time this season.
Alonso will start 16th, 2.8secs off pole – but that was two seconds faster in relative pace than they had managed for some time.
The veteran Spaniard, who is 45 next week, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I feel relieved a little bit, feeling that the team understood the weaknesses of the car and this is the first step in the right direction.
“We brought a few updates to this car early in the season, and it didn’t work much. And we come from two years of disappointments of upgrades. So definitely there is a change in optimism in the factory and I feel optimistic.”
Alonso faces a decision this summer as to whether to continue his career after this season. He said that while he had no doubts managing technical partner Adrian Newey would lead the team to success in the future, he was not sure whether it would happen soon enough for him.
“No-one should doubt Adrian Newey or the potential we have in Silverstone. It is a matter of time before we have the best chassis and it is a matter of time before Honda have the best engine in F1. It is a question of when.”
All the drivers were battling with a Hungaroring track surface that was breaking up, especially in the final two corners, where Norris said it was especially difficult to judge the grip level.
Even before the incident with Verstappen, Russell was afflicted on his final run by a water leak, which was spraying water on to his rear tyres.
Mercedes asked him to pull over immediately after crossing the line, and he parked at Turn One, in an attempt to avoid damaging the engine.
Antonelli said: “I think we were just slightly out of the window with tyres, then in Q3 we did a good step and the car just felt finally a bit more alive. For sure it was a shame with the yellow flags, but it happens. P3 was on the table today but still not good enough for pole.”
Top 10
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:17.207
2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.012 (will start fifth because of grid penalty)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.238
4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.272 (will start seventh because of grid penalty)
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.477
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.518
7. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.533
8. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.649
9. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +1.074
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1.479
Hungarian Grand Prix
26 July at 14:00 BST
Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app
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