Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen to claim an incredible ninth pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion delivered some old magic with a superb final run in Q3 to beat the Dutchman by just 0.003s in Budapest, becoming just the second non-Red Bull driver to take pole in 2023.
Verstappen had to settle for second, the first time he had failed to top qualifying since Miami, ahead of Lando Norris in an impressive third for McLaren.
Q1
Drivers were mandated to use hard tyres in Q1 under the new Alternative Tyre Allocation being tested this weekend.
As a result, most opted to do longer runs with multiple flying laps to build temperature and performance.
The unique situation benefitted some teams and hampered others, as the Mercedes’ and Lando Norris were at risk starting the final runs.
While Norris and Lewis Hamilton improved, George Russell could only manage 18th on the grid after being stuck in a traffic jam before his lap.
The two Williams’ bookended the bottom five with Alex Albon missing out by just 0.011s in 16th and Logan Sargeant slowest.
Yuki Tsunoda was only 0.002s slower in 17th as he was out-qualified by new teammate Daniel Ricciardo in 15th.
Kevin Magnussen sat 19th in the Haas ahead of Sargeant.
Q2
Q2 saw drivers move onto the medium tyres under the new rules with Sergio Perez keen to make the top 10 for the first time since Miami.
Instead, it was teammate Verstappen under a little pressure after having his first flying lap deleted for exceeding track limits.
The Dutchman swiftly put that right on his second run to make Q3, though couldn’t displace Lando Norris who finished fastest for McLaren.
Perez achieved his Q3 goal in P8 as Fernando Alonso squeaked through by just 0.002s in P10.
Instead, it was countryman Carlos Sainz who just missed out in P11 after being knocked out by Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
Alpine had a disappointing session as Esteban Ocon finished 12th and Pierre Gasly 15th.
Daniel Ricciardo managed 13th in his first qualifying for AlphaTauri ahead of Lance Stroll in P14.
Q3
Finally, the soft tyres emerged for Q3 to decide who will claim pole position.
Verstappen set the benchmark with a 1m16.6s after the first runs, leading Hamilton by a tenth of a second.
But after Max failed to improve on his second lap, the Mercedes driver produced a mighty effort to snatch pole with a 1m16.609s.
Lando Norris finished within a tenth in third ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri as McLaren continued their impressive return to form.
Zhou Guanyu was another star of qualifying in fifth, leading the works Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in sixth.
Valtteri Bottas backed up Alfa Romeo’s strong performance in seventh followed by Alonso in eighth.
Perez could only finish ninth in the second Red Bull as Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.
