Formula 1 in Hungary - Verstappen beaten by McLaren duo in qualifying
Max Verstappen gave in to both his teammate and Formula 1 pursuer Lando Norris of McLaren at the Hungaroring's knockout stage. Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri was even faster than Verstappen in Budapest before the Dutch WM leader in the Red Bull.
"I tried, but we were struggling all weekend," Verstappen said, who nevertheless had a substantial 84-point lead over Norris before the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday (3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT on Sky and RTL).
"I'm very happy, that was a tough qualifying," said the second-place driver, after two accidents caused interruptions and rain caused challenging conditions. Norris also looked forward to the race start in less than 24 hours: "Two cars on the front row - we can control it from the front."
The McLaren duo was separated by just 0.022 seconds. The traditional team last stood with both cars on the starting grid in the first row in 2012. Fourth in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix was Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari.
Verstappen was not the fastest in training
46 thousandths of a second were missing for Verstappen from Norris. He couldn't lead in any of the three training sessions beforehand. The new features on his RB 20 seemed not to have fully paid off yet. And for teammate Perez, who had been criticized for his poor performances in recent weeks, it was only mediocre until it went wrong.
Tension was therefore programmed. Adding to it was the fact that it started to rain about an hour before the knockout stage. All trainings had been in the dry, and the asphalt temperatures had reached phases above 60 degrees. Now, it was barely 30 degrees. For these conditions, data was lacking, and extra cooling for the cars was initially unnecessary.
The track was not significantly wet, and all drivers dared to put on the profile-less slicks. Conditions that should have favored the resurgent Mercedes with record world champion and Hungaroring record-holder Hamilton. He had won the race eight times and had been on pole nine times.
In the first sector, Hamilton took the lead initially from Sainz and Verstappen, but his teammate Perez suffered a serious spin. He lost control of his Red Bull and crashed into the track barrier.
Perez's crash at the worst possible moment for Verstappen
For the Mexican, whose seat in the Red Bull cockpit was threatened during the mid-season analysis, qualifying was a disappointing 16th place. His mechanics were already busy in the garage fixing the damage.
Surprisingly, George Russell in the Mercedes was eliminated in 17th place after 18 minutes. "A disaster," he commented. In 2022, he had taken pole in Hungary. The blame was his own performance and the fact that they didn't have enough fuel in the tank to finish the session.
The track got faster, and so did Verstappen. In contrast to Hamilton, who only managed to save a place in the top ten with a meager 100th of a second advantage over the 11th-placed Nico Hülkenberg.
The decision about the pole and the jitters before the rain
Verstappen lost no time in the decisive section, he was the first one out. It was supposed to rain again and then there would be no second chance. And Verstappen set off. Norris and Piasti undercut him in the end, but they couldn't beat his best lap time, until it got hectic when Yuki Tsunoda crashed in the Racing Point and caused the next interruption. There were still good two minutes to go. Verstappen didn't even try anymore. He couldn't catch up to the McLaren duo.
- Despite Max Verstappen's struggle during the weekend, he maintained a substantial lead over Lando Norris before the Grand Prix of Hungary.
- The Grand Prix of Hungary qualification was challenging due to two accidents and rain, causing difficult conditions for the drivers.
- Despite being faster than Verstappen in Budapest, Carlos Sainz of Ferrari finished fourth in qualification, behind Norris in second place.
- Lando Norris was delighted with his second-place finish in qualification, as it gave him and his McLaren teammate a strong position for the race start.
- The McLaren duo's close qualification result of 0.022 seconds separated them, last seen in such a position in 2012.
- Mercedes-Benz, led by Lewis Hamilton, struggled in the wet conditions during qualification, causing him to finish in fifth position.
- The Red Bull team faced challenges during qualification, with teammate Sergio Perez suffering a serious spin and crashing into the track barrier.
- Despite the challenging qualification, Red Bull's Max Verstappen still maintained a substantial lead in the Formula-1 standings, with 84 points over Lando Norris.
- George Russell of Mercedes-Benz had a disappointing qualification performance, finishing in 17th place, citing his own performance and fuel issues as the main reasons.
- The McLaren Group Limited and Ferrari teams expressed concerns over the rain and the lack of necessary data to prepare their cars for the challenging conditions.
- The decision for the pole position and the jitters before the rain caused many drivers, including Max Verstappen, to put on profile-less slicks, despite the lack of wet-condition data.
