Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen to the pole for the 2023 Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix by three thousandths of a second after Verstappen did not improve on his final Q3 run. The two McLarens driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are in front of the front row, creating an unexpected starting order for the race on Sunday.
An alternative tire allocation trial that required drivers to utilize hard tires in Q1, faster mediums in Q2, and soft tires in Q3 threw off qualifying. There was no practice running on the softs during Friday practice and FP3, which reduced data on the softs and raised doubts about the frontrunners’ ultimate pace. The tire distribution rule also compelled drivers to make tactical decisions and allowed spectators to accurately compare vehicles’ speeds without accounting for tire offset. The top ten drivers are now separated by only 0.5 seconds, with Nico Hülkenberg completing the top three.
On his return to the F1 grid following a gruelling two-year tenure at McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo also performed admirably. More Ricciardo magic was needed for Nyck de Vries’ underwhelming season, as the teammate qualified 13th, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in 17th. The surprise of qualifying was George Russell’s Q1 exit; he was unable to navigate the traffic and was passed by a number of vehicles before to his last run. Russell was placed in 18th after this and in poor air.
Finally, Sergio Perez has broken his Red Bull’s Q3 drought, barely making it into the final session and earning ninth place on the starting line behind Fernando Alonso, four tenths behind Verstappen’s leading Red Bull.
Verstappen has been virtually unbeatable all season, Hamilton has historically good results at the Hungaroring, while Norris’ McLaren MCL60 appears to be in fantastic form after finishing second in the British GP.
