BUDAPEST — McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri blocked the Hungarian Grand Prix front row ahead of Formula 1 leader Max Verstappen after an excellent qualifying session for the British team on Saturday.
Norris took his third career pole position and will have his teammate right behind him as he looks for his second victory of the season. Norris won in Miami in May and has come close to another victory with four podiums since then. He took pole in Spain last month and in Russia in 2021.
“We come into this weekend and we are confident we can fight for pole,” said Norris. “We are in the best position, whatever the conditions.”
The Hungarian GP marks the start of the second half of the season, which looks to be much closer than the opening races.
Verstappen, who will start third on the grid, has won at the Hungaroring in the last two years despite not starting from pole. He won 2022 starting in 10th place.
But the Dutchman had no problem acknowledging that McLaren is providing Red Bull with its toughest test of the past three seasons. Norris led practice on Friday and Saturday before showing his dominance when it mattered.
“I tried. We were a little behind all weekend and that’s what happened in qualifying. It just wasn’t enough and it’s hard to pinpoint why,” said Verstappen. “I love competing, but I’d like to be at the top of the competition. No I give up a fight, but it’s more complicated.”
It was the first qualifying one-two for McLaren in 12 years.
“It’s an incredible result for the team,” said Piastri, before adding that the main objective is to keep the two papaya-colored cars at the front until the end of the race.
“Of course I want to take the lead, but we have both cars on the front row and we are trying to win this championship as a team, and we will be smart,” said the Australian. “We want to maintain the double and we will fight among ourselves to see who gets the double.”
Light rain increased the teams’ difficulties in a session that featured two red flags for crashes.
Verstappen will likely be without help from teammate Sergio Pérez, whose problems continued when his Red Bull spun and hit the barrier during the first segment of qualifying. It is set to start from the 16th.
“This can’t happen again,” Perez said. “But at the same time, it makes me more determined to get back into shape, to… head down and learn from these mistakes that happened one after another.”
At the British GP, two weeks ago, the Mexican driver also got stuck in the gravel during qualifying. Following that error, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said Pérez’s poor performance was “unsustainable”, sparking speculation that he could be replaced despite having signed a new contract last month.
Yuki Tsunoda also crashed the side of his RB car into the barrier near the end of qualifying, damaging his front wing.
None of the drivers were injured.
Carlos Sainz, from Ferrari, set the fourth fastest time, followed by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes and Charles Leclerc, from Ferrari. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were seventh and eighth.
George Russell, for the second consecutive year here, failed to make it out of the first selection of the five slowest drivers.
“Sorry about the session guys, it was on me,” Russell, who will start 17th, told his team.
Logan Sargeant’s Williams stalled and nudged the barrier during the first qualifying session. But the American still managed to get through to Q2 and will start in 14th.
Alpine duo Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly had the two slowest times and will be at the back of the grid. Alpine was the only team not to leave in the last six minutes after the red flag stoppage due to Pérez’s fall, when it was raining. This decision proved costly. The team summed it up with a post on X that said, “Not our afternoon.”
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