Hungary Grand Prix qualifying: pole for Russell, disappointment for Verstappen

44 thousandths. With that, Russell snatched pole position in front of Carlos Sainz. It is also Russell’s first ever pole position. Charles Leclerc set a third time with a gap of 0.190 seconds to Russell. Leclerc attributes his relatively slow time after qualifying to his tyres, which he says he didn’t get to work properly. His teammate Sainz was a bit more optimistic and expects to still have a good chance of winning tomorrow. Russell, in turn, foresees a difficult day tomorrow due to the speed of the Ferraris, but is up to date with the race pace of his Mercedes-AMG W13.

It is mainly a bad day for Verstappen. The Dutchman had technical problems, including with his DRS and his engine power, which prevented him from setting a fast time and will start in tenth place tomorrow. His teammate Sergio Perez also did not have his day, as the Mexican was stuck in eleventh place and did not even make it to Q3. Names that are in the top 10 include Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo.

Verstappen is currently still leading the world championship with 63 points, but tomorrow Leclerc may well catch up with him. Hungary is not an easy circuit to overtake, so the Dutchman will mainly have to rely on a good start and a sophisticated pit stop strategy. Possibly stormy weather can also work in his favor. The race will start tomorrow at 3:00 PM.

Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying results

1. George Russell | Mercedes-AMG | 1:17,377
2. Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:17.421 (+0.044)
3. Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:17.567 (+0.190)
4. Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:17.769 (+0.392)
5. Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:18.018 (+0.641)
6. Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 1:18.078 (+0.701)
7. Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG | 1:18.142 (+0.765)
8. Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:18.157 (+0.780)
9. Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 1:18.379 (+1.002)
10. Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:18.823 (+1.446)