Max Verstappen finally claimed his first Formula 1 pole in a thrilling battle against the two Mercedes in qualifying for the Hungarian GP.
The Dutchman produced two stunning laps in Q3, with his best of 1m14.572s a new track record at the Hungaroring, Red Bull’s first pole since Mexico last year and Honda’s first in F1 since 2006.
An equally crucial upset came behind as Valtteri Bottas again proved too good for Lewis Hamilton on a Saturday, finishing just 0.018s off pole in second.
His Mercedes teammate would have to settle for third, but that could be an advantage to start on the clean side of the grid on Sunday.
Q1
The session began with Verstappen setting a strong early pace for Red Bull with a new lap record of 1m15.8s in Q1.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc would survive a hefty hit against the barrier after spinning at the final corner and damaging his rear wing.
Fortunately for the Monegasque, he had set a fast enough time to be safely into Q2 for Ferrari.
In the fight to avoid elimination, all eyes were on George Russell as the Briton jumped into the top 10 briefly in the Williams in the closing minutes.
Sniffing a surprise Q2 appearance, unfortunately, just enough cars would improve to put him out in a still much-improved 16th for the reigning F2 champion.
He would lead both Racing Points as Sergio Perez sat 17th and Lance Stroll 19th, with the Canadian unable to make Q2 for a second straight race.
Another big shock would be Daniel Ricciardo in 18th. The Australian was caught out after trying to jump the queue at the final corner and instead, compromising the start of his lap in a fracas with Perez.
Finally, Robert Kubica was left a depressing 1.3s slower than Russell in the second Williams and will bring up the field in front of thousands of Polish fans.
Q2
In the battle to make the top 10, the top six comfortably made it through on the medium compound tyre with Hamilton leading Verstappen by 0.025s.
Leclerc also had no repercussions from the spin in Q1 as he led teammate Vettel in fourth and fifth for the two Ferraris.
There were a few anxious moments for Pierre Gasly as he lingered in the lower half of the top 10, but eventually, the Frenchman safely made Q3.
Those that didn’t begun with Nico Hulkenberg on another difficult day for Renault in P11, missing out by just 0.041s.
Alex Albon led the battle of the two Toro Rosso’s by just 0.005s as he and Daniil Kvyat claimed 12th and 13th.
Antonio Giovinazzi followed in 14th but faces an investigation for impeding Stroll during Q1.
And Kevin Magnussen brought up the order in 15th in the upgraded Haas, 0.8s behind teammate Romain Grosjean still using the Melbourne-spec car.
Q3
A blistering middle sector sees Verstappen seize the early lead in the shootout with a 1m14.958s to lead the two Mercedes’.
Bottas would claim the initial high ground over Hamilton by just 0.01s in second as the two Ferraris complete the top five.
In the second runs, it appeared Bottas might just steal the pole, but a brilliant final sector from the Red Bull saw him improve by three-tenths with the Mercedes falling just short.
Leclerc improved to out-qualify Vettel for the fifth straight race at Ferrari, but the Scuderia was left trailing by almost half a second in fourth and fifth.
In the midfield, the two McLaren’s led the way with Lando Norris just holding off teammate Carlos Sainz.
Grosjean produced another very solid effort in ninth for Haas, while Kimi Raikkonen was once again Mr Consistent in P10 for Alfa Romeo.
A brilliant session, and a new face on pole with Verstappen the 100th different driver to achieve it.
Given Red Bull’s traditional strength in race pace, the Dutchman will start as the favourite for a third win in four races and it will be upto Mercedes to stop him.
Full results from qualifying can be seen below:
