Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying to take his first pole position since the penultimate race of the 2021 season.
Hamilton snatched pole position from the world champion by just 0.003 seconds with the very final lap of the session.
Lando Norris led team-mate Oscar Piastri to an all-McLaren second row.
Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu impressed with fifth place on the grid ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez made it into the top 10 on the grid for the first time in six races but it will do little to release the pressure on the Mexican as he was ninth and 0.433secs slower than the Dutchman.
Zhou’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas was seventh fastest, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, whose eighth place seemed to confirm his team’s relative slump in recent races in the face of car upgrades from their main rivals.
Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was the final man in the top 10, while Daniel Ricciardo managed 13th place on his return to Formula 1 with Alpha Tauri, out-qualifying team-mate Yuki Tsunoda at the first attempt.
There were contrasting fortunes for Hamilton’s Mercedes’ team-mate George Russell, who will start 18th after being hampered by traffic immediately before his final run in Q1.
Verstappen looked on course for yet another pole – he had won it at the past six races in a row – when he went fastest on his first run in the final part of qualifying.
But Hamilton was only 0.126secs adrift on his own first run and looked like he might be able to challenge if he nailed his last lap and Verstappen did not quite.
Verstappen failed to improve on his final run – he was 0.02secs down on his own time – and Hamilton nailed his on a track he has made his own with eight victories in his career.
Hamilton, who has had a difficult time with his team since the advent of new regulations in 2022, said: “It’s been a crazy year and a half. I have lost my voice from shouting so much in the car.
“We have been pushing so hard to finally get a pole and it just feels like the first time.
“I didn’t expect to be fighting for pole so when I went into that final run I gave it everything.
“It has been massively challenging for everyone in the team. We have been focusing so much on trying to improve.
“We have been losing so much time in Turns Four and 11 compared to the others, so I just sent it. It has been so tough and it is going to continue to be tough after this, but this just shows we can do it.”
Verstappen, for his part, said he believed the upgrades Red Bull have introduced for this weekend had worked but that he had been struggling for balance and that he believed the team “haven’t nailed it this weekend”.
Norris was also very close to pole – he was just 0.085secs off Hamilton’s time and said he was “disappointed” because he felt that time was in the car.
Hamilton’s pole was more than compensation, but it was an up-and-down day for Mercedes, after Russell failed to make it out of the first knock-out session.
Russell went out late for his final lap and became embroiled in a bunch of other cars at the final corner, affecting his preparation for the lap.
Ferrari were another team to lose out with one car, after Leclerc knocked out team-mate Carlos Sainz with his final lap of the second session and left the Spaniard in 11th place.
Alonso had been fourth after the first runs in the final session, but although he improved with his final lap, it was by only 0.008secs and that allowed Leclerc and both Alfa Romeos to slip ahead of the veteran Spaniard.
The second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll was down in 14th.
The focus before the weekend was Red Bull’s decision to bring Ricciardo back to the grid with Alpha Tauri after sacking Dutchman Nyck de Vries following a disappointing start to his F1 career.
Ricciardi built up steadily through the weekend and by qualifying was competitive with Tsunoda.
He beat the Japanese by 0.013secs in the first part of qualifying and that was enough for the Australian to progress and Tsunoda to be knocked out.
Ricciardo then beat Stroll and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to achieve Alpha Tauri’s best grid position since Monaco.
Meanwhile, Formula 1 announced that a new contract has been signed for the Hungarian Grand Prix to continue at the Hungaroring until at least 2032.
(BBC)
