Norris takes pole in Budapest
Lando Norris of McLaren secured his first pole position of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, marking the team’s first front-row start this year. Norris topped the timesheets in both FP3 and Qualifying, following significant upgrades to his car. This achievement comes after Mercedes‘ streak of pole positions ended, with many anticipating Ferrari would be the team to break their run.
Norris’s pole position was achieved by a narrow margin, outpacing Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012 seconds in the decisive qualifying laps. Norris was among the final drivers to complete his lap, after Ferrari opted to send both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc out earlier in the session.
Hamilton’s grid penalty and team’s admission
Lewis Hamilton faced a setback for the Sunday race after receiving a three-place grid penalty, demoting him to fifth on the starting grid. The penalty was issued over 90 minutes after qualifying concluded, at 18:36 local time (17:36 BST).
Hamilton was penalized for impeding Oscar Piastri of McLaren at the first corner while Piastri was preparing for a fast lap. Hamilton stated he was unaware of Piastri’s approach, explaining, “I was told literally (told by the team) when he was at the apex behind me. I didn’t know he was coming. I thought everyone had finished their lap. It wasn’t intentional.”
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur acknowledged the team’s responsibility for the incident that led to Hamilton’s penalty. The team’s failure to inform Hamilton about the oncoming Piastri contributed to the sanction.
This penalty is considered a significant blow to Hamilton’s pursuit of an eighth world championship. Instead of starting two places ahead of his championship rival, Kimi Antonelli, Hamilton will now line up two places behind him. Antonelli currently holds a 45-point lead over Hamilton in the standings. The Hungaroring circuit is known for being challenging for overtakes, making grid position particularly crucial.
Qualifying dynamics and other contenders
Hamilton had previously held an advantage of 0.101 seconds before the final runs in Q3, and had claimed his 105th and most recent pole position at this venue three years prior. However, he was unable to improve his time in the final stages of qualifying, leaving an opportunity for other drivers.
While Leclerc also failed to improve his time, Antonelli did manage to go quicker, though he remained in fourth position. Antonelli also drew the attention of the stewards for reportedly failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags following Isack Hadjar‘s spin at the final corner.
Hamilton expressed his disappointment with the team’s strategy during qualifying, stating, “I don’t know why we went first. That was a shock to me. I definitely wouldn’t have chosen to do it that way. We had the car to be on pole and I did not deliver and that is tough to swallow.”
Further back, George Russell, who is 50 points behind Antonelli, will start from seventh on the grid. Russell’s season has been affected by reliability issues, including a water leak that caused him to stop on track after completing his final lap. Mercedes had secured pole positions in the nine previous rounds, but they did not perform as strongly at this circuit on the outskirts of Budapest.
Conventional wisdom often suggests that track position is paramount at the Hungaroring. However, statistics indicate that a winner has not started from pole position since 2020, with only three winners from pole in the last decade.
Norris, with his updated McLaren, will aim to convert his pole position into a victory, marking his first win in his championship defence. He commented on his qualifying performance, saying, “How was it? It was good enough for pole but not my finest lap. It was a difficult to put a lap together here that’s for sure. But I am very happy to be here again on pole. It’s been a while.”
Source: formula1.com
