By Robert Haile
Lewis Hamilton has taken his 104th Pole Position and first of the 2023 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix with Max Verstappen having to settle for second.
The seven time World Champion, Hamilton took pole going 0.003 seconds faster than Verstappen around the Hungaroring.
In doing so stopping the championship leader from taking his sixth pole in a row and eighth of the season.
British Pole taker Hamilton said: “Pole position is an amazing feeling. I feel so grateful because the Team have worked so hard.
“We’ve been pushing so much over this time so to finally get pole position is great; it feels just like the first time. I didn’t expect that we’d be fighting for P1 coming here today.
“When I started my final lap, I gave it absolutely everything. There was nothing left in it.
“There’s been plenty of ups and downs over the past 18 months. It’s been a roller-coaster ride, but none of us have lost faith. We’ve all just hauled together and stayed united.
“We’re focusing on trying to steer the car in the right direction. It has been tough, and will continue to be so at times, but I think this shows that we’re on the right track and we can do it if we keep pushing. I have to try and sleep tonight now.
“Tomorrow, we’ll bring our A-game as a Team. It’s going to be difficult to fight Max and Lando but let’s see what we can do.”
In a change to qualifying Pirelli choose the tyres with the Hard, Medium and Soft being used for each session.
Carrying on from the British Grand Prix McLaren’s duo were back at the sharpe end as Lando Norris took third with Oscar Piastri in fourth.
In a surprise both Alfa Romeo’s were in the top ten with Zhou Guanyu taking fifth as Valtteri Bottas ended in seventh with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in sixth.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso good start to the season has dropped off as he starts eighth with Sergio Perez taking ninth for Red Bull and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg completing the top ten who all ran on the Soft tyre.
Swapping to the Medium tyre for the second qualifying session Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz missed out on the top ten shootout in eleventh by 0.002 seconds with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in twelfth.
The returning Daniel Ricciardo starts in thirteenth for AlphaTauri with Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly behind him.
The big shock in the first qualifying session was Mercedes George Russell unable to get the Hard tyre to work and will start eighteenth.
Williams’ Alex Albon missed the cut in sixteenth with Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri in seventeenth and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Logan Sargeant’s Williams on the back row.
The Hungarian Grand Prix race starts at 2pm (14:00) GMT on Sunday, July 23.
Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Vallteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- Logan Sargeant (Williams)
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