Lando Norris secured pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, leading a McLaren one-two with Oscar Piastri ahead of Max Verstappen in a thrilling qualifying session marked by fluctuating conditions and two red flags for significant crashes.
Norris narrowly outpaced Piastri by 0.022 seconds and Verstappen by just 0.046 seconds in a session that saw two interruptions. This marks Norris’ third career pole and McLaren’s first front-row lockout in qualifying since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth for Mercedes, trailing Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, while his teammate George Russell struggled with a wet-dry first session, finishing 17th.
Sergio Perez’s future with Red Bull came under increased scrutiny following a crash in the opening session that left him in 16th place. Another red flag was brought out by Yuki Tsunoda in the final session with just over two minutes remaining.
Although the session resumed, Verstappen and Fernando Alonso chose not to rejoin the track. Only Daniel Ricciardo managed to improve on his final lap, moving up to ninth and surpassing Tsunoda.
Charles Leclerc finished sixth for Ferrari, ahead of Alonso, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, and the two Red Bulls.
