2024 Hungarian Grand Prix Summary

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Lando Norris led team-mate Oscar Piastri in McLaren’s first front-row lockout since 2012 during a chaotic qualifying session at the Hungaroring.

McLaren last achieved this feat at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2012, so it had been a long time since Lewis Hamilton drove for the team.

Championship leader Max Verstappen will start from third position after a session with two red flags, one of which was caused by his out-of-form Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

Norris said afterwards: “I’m very happy, not an easy qualifying, different conditions, always finishing on top, that’s the best of all. I’m especially happy for the team, a one-two is even better to see, so congratulations to the team.

He added: “We already have confidence, so it’s not like we don’t have a lot more of it or that we’re looking for it. I think we’ve gone into this weekend and the last few weeks and we’re happy. We know we can do well and we’ve got a good car to fight for pole and that’s exactly what we did today. It’s a great job from the team and we’ve been getting better every weekend, to finish on pole today is amazing.”

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Perez, whose long-term future at Red Bull appears increasingly uncertain, crashed during Q1, again forcing him to start on the wrong side of the grid.

Many in the paddock now believe McLaren has the fastest car, but the British team has failed to capitalise on a number of opportunities since Norris’ victory at the Miami Grand Prix in early May.

With the front row secured and Perez bottom of the table, Sunday is a golden opportunity for McLaren to get back to winning ways and claw a share of the points from Red Bull’s faltering lead in the constructors’ championship. Mercedes and Ferrari may well fancy themselves in with a shot at at least getting into the mix for a podium.

Piastri said afterwards: “It’s cool to be here, especially when you get a result like this. I think it’s the first one-two in qualifying for McLaren in a long time. I’m very happy of course, but I missed two hundredths, so you think of all the little things you could have done better. But a great result for the team.”

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Carlos Sainz qualified fourth for Ferrari, ahead of British Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton, ending Mercedes’ run of four consecutive pole positions at the Hungaroring.

Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell faces a long and frustrating Sunday afternoon after failing to make it through to Q1 because Mercedes did not give him enough fuel to complete a final lap at the end of the session.

Charles Leclerc was sixth in the other Ferrari, ahead of Aston Martin duo Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. RB duo Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo added to Perez’s misery by progressing to Q3.

Tsunoda crashed towards the end of the session, his car briefly flying into the air after running wide and awkwardly going over a kerb. He was unhurt in the subsequent impact with the wall.

Tsunoda’s incident brought out another red flag, but there was still enough time at the end of the session for a number of drivers to complete a lap on time.

Verstappen, who did not have new tyres, decided to stay in the garage, although both McLaren and Ferrari drivers made an attempt to do better in the closing stages.

The Dutchman said after the session: “I tried, we were a bit behind all weekend, and I think that was also the case in qualifying. I tried to get as close as possible, but unfortunately not enough, it’s a bit difficult to pinpoint why, I would have liked a bit more grip, but it’s not there now.

“P3 is still very close, but I just hope the car performs well in the race tomorrow and we can at least follow them and see what we can do there.”

When asked about the exciting battle with other teams, he said: “I like competition, but I also like to be at the top of the league. At the moment I feel like we are chasing and we have a few more difficult weekends. I don’t shy away from a fight, but it’s just a difficult situation, I think.”

Ricciardo was one of the other drivers to start, but he crossed the start-finish line just after the session time had expired. However, he will start from tenth place and seems to have a golden opportunity to prove his qualities and return to Red Bull as Perez’s replacement.