By a slim margin of just 0.003 seconds, Lewis Hamilton ended Max Verstappen’s dominating pole position streak during the Hungarian Grand Prix. In the course of the race, a new Formula 1 system was put into effect.
Surprisingly, the first two sections produced some surprising outcomes. Verstappen seemed prepared to secure the coveted pole position on soft tires as the Q3 phase advanced. A tiny 0.003 seconds split Hamilton from him at the very last second, giving him the season’s first pole position.
As per today’s results, Lewis Hamilton will be joined by Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who secured the second and third positions respectively, at the front of the grid for tomorrow’s race. In his post-race interview with Sky Sports F1 reporter Danica Patrick, Hamilton stated, “I didn’t expect that coming today. So when I went to that last run, I gave it absolutely everything.”
You win the race tomorrow. What’s the emotion going to be like then?
“Oh, geez. I just have to try and see if I can sleep tonight. […] And I mean, it’s going to be difficult to fight these two guys. You know, Lando’s been doing a mega job.
“It’s been great to see McLaren up… pic.twitter.com/YpYGRl7VZu
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) July 22, 2023
Delighted by today’s results, the Briton added, “Today we were losing so much in turn four and eleven compared to the others. So I just sent it and hope that I stayed on track, but it has been tough and this is going to continue to be tough moving on from here. But I think hopefully this shows that we’re on the right track and we can do it if we just keep pushing.” He is ardent about maintaining the same pace for the race day.
Hamilton overshadows teammate George Russell
During the qualifying session, as the track conditions continued to improve, George Russell emerged as a significant surprise coming in with the 18th position.
After being eliminated from Q1 before the Hungarian Grand Prix, George Russell expressed his discontent and anger towards his Mercedes team. Despite having won the pole position in the same race the year prior, the British driver had an awful day when he got stuck behind traffic on the last run of the session.
Our 2022 pole-sitter George Russell is out of qualifying!!!!
And Toto Wolff is not a happy man 😳
Poor table 😅#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/zbJhSvuJNS
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 22, 2023
Replays showed that three vehicles raced ahead, passing the Mercedes driver. Russell was caught off guard by this unexpected circumstance, which ultimately jeopardized the first sector of his final lap. To the disappointment of Toto Wolff and the entire Mercedes team, George was unable to move out of the drop zone and kept struggling.
Something which was delightfully surprising was to see Lando Norris on the podium. Given the performance record of McLaren over the last few years, the recent surge of exceptional performance has put the team as a tough contender for the season. Sergio Perez, who crashed during the practice session, came in 9th. However, Ferrari and Aston Martin seem to disappear from the competition with a streak of poor performance.