Hungarian GP Qualifying Results: McLaren Secures Front-Row Lockout At The Hungaroring

What happened during the Hungarian GP Qualifying session.

McLaren driver Lando Norris of United Kingdom, left, and McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, talk to fans at the Driver Engagement event at the Formula 1 Lenovo United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Friday October 20, 2023. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA

Lando Norris has secured pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Joining the McLaren driver at the front of the grid tomorrow are his teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen who will be starting the race from second and third position, respectively.

What happened during the Hungarian GP Qualifying?

Q1

18 minutes to go: Rain has been falling for the last hour but seems to have temporarily stopped.

16 minutes to go: The drivers head out on track on slick soft tires, although McLaren advise the drivers that they probably only have one lap before the rain will begin falling again.

10 minutes to go: Logan Sargeant has a moment at Turn 1 as he locks up and collides with the barrier. He is able to continue with the session and looks as though he will just need a new front wing. The American driver is currently running in seventh position so he might be safe for Q2.

7 minutes to go: RED FLAG! Sergio Perez has crashed into the wall after losing control at Turn 8 as he ran slightly off the racing line and onto a wet part of the track. The Mexican driver is currently ninth on the board so may get through to Q2, so long as his lap time is not deleted. Thankfully, he is okay and is able to get out of the car.

This issue now for the drivers at risk is that with the rain falling more, when the session gets going again, they may not be able to improve their lap times. Currently in the elimination zone are Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu, and Nico Hulkenberg. George Russell and Valtteri Bottas are also at risk as they are currently in fourteenth and fifteenth position.

Green Flag! George Russell and Valtteri Bottas head straight out on track. They are still on soft slick tires.

2 minutes to go: All remaining drivers are back on track apart from Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. This could be a mistake from the French team as the other drivers start to improve their times.

0 minutes to go: As Perez gets eliminated, Daniel Ricciardo sneaks in the fastest time at the last moment. This is sure to get rumors flying again.

Out in Q1

1. Sergio Perez
2. George Russell
3. Zhou Guanyu
4. Esteban Ocon
5. Pierre Gasly

Q2

15 minutes to go: The session has begun. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz is the only driver to head out on track so far.

9 minutes to go: Lewis Hamilton puts in the fastest time only for Max Verstappen to knock him off the top spot by an incredible 8 tenths of a second. Verstappen is on new tires, whereas, Hamilton is on used.

4 minutes to go: The drivers currently at risk are Valtteri Bottas, Logan Sargeant, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, and Daniel Ricciardo.

0 minutes to go: A very close call for Lewis Hamilton. He gets through to Q3 by a hundredth of a second.

Out in Q2

1. Nico Hulkenberg
2. Valtteri Bottas
3. Alex Albon
4. Logan Sargeant
5. Kevin Magnussen

Q3

12 minutes to go: Max Verstappen is the fast driver out on track.

10 minutes to go: Aston Martin tells Fernando Alonso that rain is expected again so this could be the one opportunity to get a fast lap in.

8 minutes to go: Lando Norris takes provisional pole from Max Verstappen with a 1:15.227, 0.328 seconds faster than the Red Bull driver.

7 minutes to go: Rain begins to fall lightly.

2 minutes to go: RED FLAG! Yuki Tsunoda crashes at Turn 5. He runs wide and loses control causing his RB-01 briefly into the air before he crashes into the barriers. Tsunoda is okay but his session is over. There is 2 minutes 13 seconds remaining on the session.

Green Flag: Interestingly, Max Verstappen has got out of his car and is not continuing with the session. Red Bull has told Sky Sports that they do not think they can improve their lap time on the used tires. He is currently running in third position, but as he is now not going back out, he might lose this.

2024 Hungarian GP Qualifying Results

1. Lando Norris
2. Oscar Piastri
3. Max Verstappen
4. Carlos Sainz
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Charles Leclerc
7. Fernando Alonso
8. Lance Stroll
9. Daniel Ricciardo
10. Yuki Tsunoda
11. Nico Hulkenberg
12. Valtteri Bottas
13. Alex Albon
14. Logan Sargeant
15. Kevin Magnussen
16. Sergio Perez
17. George Russell
18. Zhou Guanyu
19. Esteban Ocon
20. Pierre Gasly