Hamilton Faces Penalty

Norris races to pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Lando Norris(Bild: AFP/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)

For the first time in the eleventh Grand Prix of the Formula 1 season, no Mercedes will start from pole position. World Champion Lando Norris won Saturday’s qualifying session in Hungary. Behind the McLaren driver were the two Ferraris driven by record champion Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. However, Hamilton and championship leader Kimi Antonelli were demoted three positions to fifth and seventh on the grid, respectively, for obstructing other drivers. 

Norris had beaten Hamilton’s fastest time in the final moments of qualifying by a mere twelve-thousandths of a second. For his English compatriot, who has already won eight times in Mogyorod near Budapest, things took a turn for the worse an hour and a half later. “I didn’t see Piastri,” Hamilton argued even before the stewards’ ruling. “I thought everyone had already finished their lap,” said the 41-year-old. “It’s crazy—obviously, it wasn’t intentional.” 

Norris Consistently Strong
Norris was the fastest in all three qualifying sessions. The 26-year-old had already set the pace on Saturday morning in the third free practice session and rewarded himself with his 17th career pole—his first as world champion. Norris hasn’t secured a Grand Prix victory this season either, but the updates to his McLaren seem to be working. “I’m very happy to be back at the top,” said last year’s winner. “But in the end, I’m also a little pleasantly surprised.”

Hamilton had been chasing his tenth pole position in Hungary—his first since joining Ferrari and his first in exactly three years, when he also started from the front of the grid at the Hungaroring. His former team, Mercedes, which had previously enjoyed great success, struggled on the slow track with its many tight corners. Antonelli finished 0.272 seconds behind Norris. His teammate George Russell had to pull his car over immediately after qualifying due to a loss of coolant.

Mercedes “Simply Not Good Enough”
So far this season, Antonelli (6) and Russell (4) had split the top starting positions between them. In Hungary, however, the Silver Arrows struggled in all practice sessions ahead of Sunday’s race (3:00 p.m./live on ORF 1 and Sky). “We’re just not good enough,” said Team Principal Toto Wolff. “We knew Budapest would be difficult. It’s always been a McLaren and Ferrari track.” He added that overtaking is particularly difficult given the amount of electric power available.

Here are the final results:

Here are the standings in the Drivers’ World Championship:

Setback for Russell
Russell’s current 50-point deficit in the World Championship to his teammate Antonelli could widen in the final race before the four-week summer break. However, Hamilton is the 19-year-old Italian’s closest pursuer in the championship, trailing by 45 points. “I’d rather see Norris win than one of the Ferraris,” said Wolff. Despite the limited overtaking opportunities, however, no driver has won from pole position at the Hungaroring since Hamilton in 2020.

(Bild: AFP/FERENC ISZA)

Red Bull star Max Verstappen, more than half a second off the pace, could not do better than sixth on the grid, but benefited in the evening from penalties handed to Hamilton and Antonelli. The Dutchman also spun out in the final corner of qualifying, forcing Antonelli and Russell to briefly ease off the gas during their final flying laps. Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar went off the track during the second qualifying session and ultimately finished in eighth place. With veteran Fernando Alonso in 16th place, an Aston Martin driver made it through the first qualifying phase for the first time this season.