Lando Norris clinched pole position for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix following a thrilling qualifying session marked by fluctuating wet-dry conditions, two red flags, and a frantic final push.
The McLaren driver initially set a provisional pole time of 1m 15.227s during the early runs of Q3. However, the session was interrupted when Yuki Tsunoda had a heavy crash in his RB. With just over two minutes left on the clock, the session resumed.
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2024 Hungarian GP FP2: Norris top and Leclerc brings out red flag
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2024 Hungarian GP FP3: Norris leads McLaren 1-2 in final practice
Due to the changing weather conditions, most drivers couldn’t improve their times, allowing Norris to maintain P1, narrowly ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri by 0.022s. Max Verstappen, who chose not to attempt another lap in the final moments, secured third place for Red Bull. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished fourth, with Lewis Hamilton completing the top five for Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc secured P6 for Ferrari, while Aston Martin performed well with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll taking P7 and P8, respectively. RB’s Daniel Ricciardo had a solid day in P9, just ahead of Tsunoda in P10.
Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out on advancing to Q3 by a mere hundredth of a second in his Haas, while Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas also fell short, finishing P12.
Despite a promising start, the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were eliminated in Q2, placing 13th and 14th, respectively, along with Haas’s Kevin Magnussen in 15th.
Q1 saw significant drama as Sergio Perez brought out the red flags after hitting the barriers in his Red Bull, leaving him in P16. Mercedes’ George Russell also failed to progress, ending up in P17 after seemingly setting his lap too early.
Zhou Guanyu finished 18th for Kick Sauber, while Alpine’s decision not to set another lap in the closing moments backfired, resulting in Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly ending up 19th and 20th, respectively.
Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
2024 Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying, 20 July 2024
Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying as it happened
Q1
After three practice sessions in warm conditions on Friday and Saturday, drivers and teams returned to action for qualifying to set the grid for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Cloud cover brought rain just an hour before the session, cooling the temperatures to around 26 degrees Celsius. As the showers intensified before Q1 started at 1600 local time, they eased off just as the lights went green.
Slick tyres were still in order as a queue of cars headed out on track, all sporting the soft compound as a dry racing line quickly formed. With the lingering threat of rain, everyone was eager to get an early lap on the board.
Hamilton topped the timesheets after the first runs with a 1m 17.087s, while Sargeant, who impressively went fifth quickest, briefly brought out the yellow flags after hitting the barriers at Turn 1, damaging his front wing.
Several big names were at risk, with Leclerc and Russell hovering near the danger zone, while Ricciardo and Hulkenberg were ensconced in it. Leclerc managed to pull himself into the top-10, and Ricciardo improved just enough to go 15th before being pushed down again.
With just under seven minutes left, the session came to a dramatic halt when Perez spun into the barriers after losing control of his RB20 on the slippery curbs. Although uninjured, the Mexican, under mounting pressure from recent poor results, likely felt disheartened by the incident.
During the red flag period, all eyes were on the weather as the rain intensified before Q1 resumed. When the session restarted, conditions had improved but left a damp track with only a few minutes remaining. Russell, at risk in P14, headed out for another run and improved to go 10th quickest, while the entire field emerged on track, barring the Alpine pair.
Ricciardo sparked cheers by going fastest of all, and Stroll, Bottas, and Magnussen also improved. However, Russell appeared to have timed his effort too early, ending up P17. Perez exited in P16, unable to rejoin following his crash, and Zhou was unlucky in P18. Alpine’s decision not to go out again backfired, resulting in Ocon and Gasly being eliminated in P19 and P20.
Knocked out: Perez, Russell, Zhou, Ocon, Gasly
Q2
Following the drama of Q1, Q2 started quietly, with Sainz having the track to himself as he put his first lap on the board using soft tyres.
As the rest of the field joined for their first runs, Verstappen, on fresh rubber, set an initial benchmark of 1m 15.770s, with Piastri just 0.015s behind thanks to an impressive effort on used softs.
With five minutes remaining, Bottas, Sargeant, Albon, Hulkenberg, and Ricciardo were at risk, with Ricciardo having not set a time yet. A queue formed in the pit lane ahead of the final laps, prompting a frustrated Hulkenberg to report: “We’re getting done here. This is taking too long.”
Hamilton, at the front of the pack, struggled to improve significantly, dropping down from P6 as others bettered their times. The Mercedes driver managed to stay in by the skin of his teeth, securing P10, just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Hulkenberg in P11.
While Norris went fastest and others improved, Bottas missed out on progressing to Q3 along with Albon, Sargeant, and Magnussen.
Knocked out: Hulkenberg, Bottas, Albon, Sargeant, Magnussen
Q3
Verstappen was first on track as the top-10 shootout began, setting an early lap on new soft tyres. “Make that lack of a tow count, Max,” Verstappen was told by his engineer.
With Alonso warned of possible rain during the second runs, the pressure was on to put in a strong effort initially. Verstappen seemed to have provisional pole position, but Norris displaced him, going fastest by three-tenths with a 1m 15.227s.
Piastri slotted into third, ahead of Leclerc in fourth and Hamilton in fifth. As the first laps were completed, rain started to fall lightly again at the Hungaroring.
Several drivers returned to the track with a few minutes remaining, including Piastri, who improved to within 0.022s of Norris, and Verstappen, who went third. The session was then interrupted by a red flag due to Tsunoda’s crash at Turn 5. Fortunately, Tsunoda walked away unscathed.
As the session resumed with 2:13 remaining, several drivers lined up in the pit lane, barring Verstappen and Alonso. All but Sainz managed to make it to the line in time for another lap. Ricciardo was the only driver to improve his time, securing Norris’s pole position just ahead of teammate Piastri.
Verstappen held onto P3 and will share the second row with Sainz in P4. Future Ferrari teammates Leclerc and Hamilton lined up in P5 and P6. Alonso and Stroll followed in P7 and P8 on a decent day for Aston Martin, with Ricciardo in P9 and Tsunoda, unable to rejoin, in P10.
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