Formula 1: Norris clinches Budapest pole, McLaren 1-2

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A dramatic wet-dry qualifying ended with the McLaren of Lando Norris on Pole as he and teammate Oscar Piastri locked out the front row ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. With his time set early in Q3, Norris held the top spot as Yuki Tsunoda crashed out, forcing the session to a halt. With little more than 2 minutes remaining, the action went back green as drivers made one final dash to the line. However, with the mixed weather conditions most of the field were unable to improve, leaving Norris with his 3rd career pole as he looks for victory come Sunday.

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix as Norris takes pole and Perez and Tsunoda crash out

Q1 Results:

Despite having three warm practices it was a whole different game at the start of Q1. As the cloud coverage intensified, drops of rain began to fall in the hour prior to the start of the session, cooling the air temperature around the track as the track went green.

With slick tires on, the grid took to the circuit in order to snag an early quick lap as the threat of more rain lingered. Lewis Hamilton went quickest of all in the first round of laps as Logan Sargeant brought out the first yellow flag of the session as he went into the turn 1 barriers. Then, with seven minutes remaining the first session came to a sudden halt as Sergio Perez spun off and into the barriers, destroying his RB20 in the process and forcing a red flag period.

As the field sat in their garages, the weather was the talk of everyone as rain began to intensify around the circuit. However, much to the delight of the drivers remaining in contention, conditions improved enough to continue with slicks.

As the final minutes ticked down, Daniel Ricciardo put his RB quickest of all to the cheer of the crowd as Stroll, Bottas, and Magnussen improved their times to pull themselves out of the bottom 5 and on to Q2. George Russell, last weeks pole sitter, was on the unlucky end of the session as he made his exit in 17th after his final run left him unable to mount a challenge for the top 10.

Drivers out in Q1:

  • 16th: Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
  • 17th: George Russell (Mercedes)
  • 18th: Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)
  • 19th: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
  • 20th: Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

Q2 Results:

The second session of the afternoon was a significant departure from Q1 as Carlos Sainz took to a quiet and empty track. As the rest of the field joined in, Max Verstappen went quickest on fresh tires as Oscar Piastri nearly matched him on pace with a set of used soft tires.

As the time ticked away, Lewis Hamilton found himself at risk to transfer, he best effort on put his Mercedes 6th fastest as Lando Norris went quickest of all to push Verstappen off the top spot. With laps coming in at the very end of the session, Hamilton narrowly avoided relegation by a mere one hundredth of a second over Hulkenberg.

Drivers out in Q2:

  • 11th: Nico Hulkenberg ( Haas)
  • 12th: Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber)
  • 13th: Alex Albon (Williams)
  • 14th: Logan Sargeant (Willians)
  • 15th: Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

Q3 Results:

With the top-10 shootout finalized Max Verstappen took to the track on a set of new soft compound tires as early as he could as the possiblity of rain loomed that would affect any second runs teams had planned. Soon after Verstappens lap, Norris took provisional pole by three tenths of a second as teammate Piastri slotted his McLaren in third, ahead of Charles LeClerc and Lewis Hamilton. As teams finished their first runs, that threat of rain became reality as a light rain began to fall across the track.

Verstappen and Piastri were quick to react to the incoming rain as Piastri improved his time to put him second behind Norris as Verstappen failed to improve position, but was closer on pace to the two McLarens. Then, for the second time, red flags were shown on circuit as Yuki Tsunoda binned his RB into the barrier out of turn 5. Marshals worked quick to remove the stricken RB as Tsunoda walked off the incident and the track went green for the final time with only a few minutes remaining on the clock.

As drivers took to their final runs, no one was able to challenge for any position changes as Norris was crowned polesitter for Sunday’s race.

With his third career pole in hand, Norris will start with teammate Piastri beside him as Verstappen and Carlos Sainz will share the second row of the grid. Lewis Hamilton, nearly at risk to transfer in Q2, will start fifth alongside 2025 teammate Charles LeClerc as the Aston Martin pair of Alonso and Stroll will share the 4th row. The RB pair of Ricciardo and Tsunoda make up the fifth row for the start of the race.

And with that, the grid is set for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix as McLaren locked out the front row for the first time since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. Tune in live for all the action starting at 15:00 local time and check back here for our post race report.

Free Practice 1 Report – CLICK HERE

Free Practice 2 Report – CLICK HERE

Free Practice 3 Report – CLICK HERE

FORMULA 1 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule

DateSessionTime (Local Circuit)
July 19thPractice 113:30 – 14:30
Practice 217:00 – 18:00
July 20thPractice 312:30 – 13:30
Qualifying16:00 – 17:00
July 21stRace15:00

Qualifying Results

SNODRIVERCARQ1Q2Q3LAPS
14Lando NorrisMCLAREN MERCEDES1:17.7551:15.5401:15.22722
281Oscar PiastriMCLAREN MERCEDES1:17.5041:15.7851:15.24921
31Max VerstappenRED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT1:17.0871:15.7701:15.27321
455Carlos SainzFERRARI1:17.2441:15.8851:15.69626
544Lewis HamiltonMERCEDES1:17.0871:16.3071:15.85424
616Charles LeclercFERRARI1:17.4371:15.8911:15.90522
714Fernando AlonsoASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES1:17.6241:16.1171:16.04318
818Lance StrollASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES1:17.4051:16.0751:16.24422
93Daniel RicciardoRB HONDA RBPT1:17.0501:16.2021:16.44720
1022Yuki TsunodaRB HONDA RBPT1:17.4361:16.1211:16.47720
1127Nico HulkenbergHAAS FERRARI1:17.3621:16.31716
1277Valtteri BottasKICK SAUBER FERRARI1:17.4871:16.38419
1323Alexander AlbonWILLIAMS MERCEDES1:17.2801:16.42916
142Logan SargeantWILLIAMS MERCEDES1:17.7701:16.54313
1520Kevin MagnussenHAAS FERRARI1:17.8511:16.54815
1611Sergio PerezRED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT1:17.8866
1763George RussellMERCEDES1:17.9689
1824Zhou GuanyuKICK SAUBER FERRARI1:18.03712
1931Esteban OconALPINE RENAULT1:18.0496
2010Pierre GaslyALPINE RENAULT1:18.1666