Hungarian GP | Hamilton on pole, demolishes track record
Lewis Hamilton conquered pole position number 90 of his career, as Mercedes' superiority culminated in a front-row lockout. Lance Stroll qualifies in third, opening an all-Racing Point second row ahead of the two Ferraris.
Qualifying in Hungary saw the umpteenth Mercedes show, as the German team secured a sensational front-row lockout. Lewis Hamilton claimed his 90th pole position, one tenth faster than Valtteri Bottas. Racing Point follows with Lance Stroll in P3 and Sergio Perez in P4, whereas Ferrari put up its most convincing and consistent qualifying performance thus far. Stroll was the only driver who managed to stay within the 1-second wall from Mercedes, as his teammate Perez pays a 1.098s gap from the top.
While the first four drivers are going to start on the Medium tyre, Sebastian Vettel will be opening the Soft-tyre pack. Charles Leclerc could not go any further than P6, edging out Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, once again faster than his more experienced teammate, Sainz, in 9th. Pierre Gasly will occupy the tenth spot on the grid tomorrow.
Q2
Lewis Hamilton demolished the track record with a scorching lap (1’14’’261), two tenths ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Both Mercedes and Racing Point drivers and Max Verstappen finished Q2 closer to the top in P3, albeit seven tenths behind the record-breaking laptime set by the six-time world champion. Charles Leclerc follows in P4, three hundredths off Verstappen. The contention appears rather tigth between McLaren and Ferrari, as Sebastian Vettel finds himself in P6 glued to Lando Norris in 5th. Stroll and Perez respectively stand in 7th and 9th position, having set their Q2 times on the Medium tyre. Pierre Gasly completes the Top-10, having knocked Ricciardo out of the Q3 picture.
George Russell finished in P12, confirming the positive signals displayed in the morning and in Q1. Alex Albon, on the contrary, cannot see his P13 as a decent result, after he lamented the poor timing that got him stuck in traffic while trying to start his flying lap.
Eliminated: Daniel Ricciardo, George Russell, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Nicholas Latifi.
Q3
The Hungaroring witnessed a thrilling Q1 topped by the Racing Point duo. Sergio Perez set a 1’14’’681, fending off his teammate Lance Stroll by a little over two tenths. The Mercedes looked stronger than ever, even on Williams, the ultimate dark horse of the third qualifying of 2020. George Russell made his way into the Top-10, ending the session in P9, less than a second off the pace. His teammate Latifi impressed as well, managing to stay afloat in the closing stages of Q1 and passing the cut to Q2 in P15.
Eliminated: Kevin Magnussen, Daniil Kvyat, Romain Grosjean, Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen.
