2021 Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying Report & Highlights: Hamilton roars towards Hungarian pole, as Bottas denies Verstappen leaving the front row

Lewis Hamilton clinched his first pole position in seven races with a scintillating lap during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, blocking the front row with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas as British Championship rival Max Verstappen had to settle for third place .

The seven-time world champion got the job done on his first run in Q3, clocking a lap three-tenths of a second faster than rival Red Bull.

In the second heats, Hamilton got out of the garage first and hurtled down the pit lane, keeping an eye on his mirrors with Verstappen behind him. He continued to ride until the pit exit and as he picked up the pace his lap was slow and brought the peloton together.

As a result, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez might not cross the line in time to start a timed lap, with the Mexican hitting his wheel in frustration, with his race engineer telling the team’s radio that it was “a bit of Game”.

Hamilton set a slow first sector and didn’t improve in the other two either, but that didn’t matter because while Verstappen set personal bests in sectors two and three, he didn’t. it was enough to improve the third.

This gave Hamilton his eighth pole in Hungary – tying the record for most poles on a single circuit – while Mercedes locked the front row for the fifth time in their last seven attempts at the Hungaroring.

Oddly enough, the top two teams went for different strategies, with Mercedes opting for the medium tires on their two cars, while Red Bull opted for the soft compound, which should offer more grip initially but won’t last as long. to shorten the first relay.

Pierre Gasly was a very good fifth – 11 places ahead of his AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda – for his eighth start in the top six of the year, with Lando Norris improving his second run to jump three places in sixth , in what is his highest ever start at the Hungaroring.

Charles Leclerc was the lead Ferrari – his teammate Carlos Sainz having crashed in Q2 after losing the car in the penultimate corner – in seventh position, Esteban Ocon edging his Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso by a position for the first time in six races.

Sebastian Vettel completed the top 10 in his Aston Martin, as he finished outside the top five in Hungary for the first time since 2008.

More soon.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Russell misses Q2 for the first time in 2021

Air and track temperatures rose for qualifying, with conditions closer to those the teams experienced in Friday’s second practice session.

Haas was desperately trying to get Mick Schumacher’s car repaired in time for the German to participate, after his FP3 crash, but they ran out of time.

WATCH: Mick Schumacher suffers serious FP3 accident in Hungary

On the track, the two Mercedes were the first to set top times with Hamilton leading Bottas, but they were usurped by Verstappen by 0.2s.

All three times were good enough to progress so they retreated to the garage – but the second Red Bull of Perez made two runs, both achieving similar lap times as he struggled for pace and pulled away. found within a second of his teammate.

Yuki Tsunoda put the pressure on himself after a lackluster two innings open – and he couldn’t do enough on his third, which meant an early swim.

George Russell was unable to maintain his streak of Q2 appearances, with a seedy final lap that placed him 17th, within a tenth of his Williams teammate Nicholas Latifi.

Knocked Out: Tsunoda, Russell, Latifi, Mazepin, Schumacher

Q2 – Sainz collapses, as Red Bull and Mercedes opt for different strategies

It was mediums for Mercedes and Red Bull at the start of Q2, with the rest of the field opting for the less durable softer tires. Hamilton was the fastest, a few tenths behind Verstappen, with Bottas coming third ahead of Perez.

Leclerc took second on the softs, and his teammate Carlos Sainz – who was fourth in Q1 – was also going fast, but got wrong on the penultimate corner and slipped into the wall to the side, snatching his front wing. He sets off again, but passing on the front wing, his Ferrari gets stuck.

That meant his session was over, with the clerk of the course throwing a red flag to give the marshals time to clean his scarlet machine. During the run, he resumed the road, six minutes and 40 seconds from the end, Alonso losing little time and settling in the top 10 on the softs.

Red Bull has sent their two drivers on soft tires, both improving, meaning they will start on that rubber, while their Mercedes rivals will be on the most durable medium to set up an intriguing tactical battle in race.

Daniel Ricciardo made his way into the top 10, but his stint didn’t last long as a flurry of drivers improved. He was pushed back to 10th place, just 0.08s behind Vettel to see the Australian miss Q3 in Hungary for a fourth consecutive year.

Lance Stroll was one tenth behind his teammate Vettel in 12th place, with the Alfa Romeo duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi lined up just behind. Sainz was the fifth and last driver to retire, failing to establish a time after his crash.

Knocked Out: Ricciardo, Stroll, Raikkonen, Giovinazzi, Sainz

Q3 – Hamilton does the job

Hamilton had a very competitive first round in Q3, which posed a significant challenge for Verstappen, whose own opening volley was slower than his best effort in Q2.

As they put on new tires for their second heats, Hamilton beat Verstappen out of the garage and controlled the pace throughout.

He blocked on the penultimate turn, to put him on the back foot, and failed to improve in any of the three sectors.

Verstappen had a better lap, but remained third to leave him only one front row start in Hungary (when he was on pole in 2019).

Bottas did exactly what Mercedes would have hoped for, putting the car in second as a rear gunner for Hamilton, in what is only his second start of the year on the front row.

The key quote

“It was an incredible qualifying round this last one,” said poleman Hamilton. “I think everyone worked as a team this weekend, including Valtteri, just trying to keep the car moving, constantly developing, the guys at the factory just haven’t overlooked anything, so this it was amazing to see everyone coming together and rallying and moving forward.

And after?

The Hungarian Grand Prix will start at 3:00 p.m. local time, or 1200 UTC. Hamilton has the advantage over title rival Verstappen, but the last time the Red Bull driver started third (at Imola) he passed Hamilton for the lead at Turn 1….