Charles Leclerc pulled off a dramatic pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, clocking 1:15.372 in the final seconds of Q3 to edge out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris by mere thousandths of a second.
Despite tricky conditions with light rain and falling temperatures, Leclerc found grip and pace when it mattered most to deny McLaren a front-row lockout. George Russell impressed in his Mercedes to claim fourth, while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll locked out row three for Aston Martin.
Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto produced a stellar lap for P7, outqualifying Max Verstappen, who struggled to eighth in his Red Bull. Liam Lawson and rookie teammate Isack Hadjar completed the top 10 in a strong session for Racing Bulls.
Lewis Hamilton endured another frustrating Saturday, exiting in Q2 to start 12th. Kimi Antonelli initially made the Q3 cut but had his lap deleted for track limits, dropping him to 15th.
Further down the order, Yuki Tsunoda was knocked out in Q1 and will start 16th, ahead of Gasly, Ocon, Hulkenberg, and Albon, who couldn’t improve late on.
Sunday’s race promises plenty of action with a shuffled grid and a fired-up field chasing Leclerc for victory in Budapest.
