Lando Norris takes Hungarian F1 GP pole after Russell’s shock early exit

Following the intense qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lando Norris and his McLaren team are feeling the pressure to perform well in the upcoming race. Recent races have seen missed chances and small mistakes that have had negative impacts, but with Oscar Piastri also starting on the front row, McLaren has a strong chance to win in Budapest.

He performed exceptionally well during the qualifying round at the Hungaroring, catching up to Max Verstappen's time. The 24-year-old driver showed great skill and confidence, hitting the corners perfectly and finishing more than three-tenths of a second ahead of Verstappen, who came in third place feeling disappointed.

During the second practice sessions, Piastri closely followed Norris with a strong determination, showing how fast the McLaren car can be. Piastri was only two-hundredths of a second behind his teammate in speed.

Ever since winning at the Miami GP, Norris and McLaren have consistently shown excellent performance. Despite some mistakes made by both the driver and the team, they have taken responsibility for it. These errors have prevented them from winning races they could have potentially won. Both Norris and McLaren understand the importance of performing flawlessly on race day.

Norris was quietly happy with his excellent performance, securing his first pole position in Hungary and the third of his career. McLaren, feeling encouraged, will also be celebrating their progress in recent races. It has been a long time since they last took pole in Budapest, with Lewis Hamilton being the last to do so in 2012. Additionally, their last victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix was also achieved by Hamilton at the same event.

Norris is currently 84 points behind Verstappen in the championship with 12 races left. He and his team understand that they cannot waste any more opportunities to close the gap if they want to compete with Verstappen until the end of the season, as Norris himself admitted.

"We have put in our best efforts during every race, although we have had some missed opportunities. I don't want to dwell on the past," he stated. "Ideally, I would like to have a flawless, competitive weekend, but I'm aware that it may be challenging, especially with Oscar and Max close behind."

Everyone is valuable, striving to make the most out of every opportunity, every point. The harder we work to catch up to Max and Red Bull, the more successful we will be.

Hungary presents a great chance for success, especially since Verstappen was clearly not satisfied with his car's performance. It was even more disappointing for him because the team had rushed to make a significant upgrade for this race.

Verstappen had stressed that the upgrades' impact on the season's second half would be key, but he felt they didn't go far enough. He admitted defeat, stating he couldn't see a way to outperform the McLarens.

"The improvements are effective, but we still aren't leading, so we need more," he stated. "I was satisfied with my laps, but in terms of balance, everything is at its limit. I was giving my all, so there were a few minor incidents here and there. It's just not possible to achieve great lap times anymore. We are a bit slower, so we need to put in the work. It's as straightforward as that."

It appears McLaren had a difficult time in qualifying, but Norris showed great composure during a session that was interrupted by two crashes. Despite the challenging conditions caused by early rain, Norris managed to pull off one of his best laps.

During the initial hot laps in the third quarter, Verstappen showed strong performance by being the fastest in each sector and hitting every mark perfectly. He set a lap time of 1 minute and 15.555 seconds, which was the time to beat. Norris also put in a great effort, aggressively attacking the corners with impressive determination and completing a flawless lap in 1 minute and 15.227 seconds. Piastri managed to surpass Verstappen with a faster lap time near the end of the session, securing second place. However, Verstappen was unable to improve his time before the session was halted due to Tsunoda's crash.

A last-minute development didn't make a difference when the session resumed, as the last two minutes of driving on worn tires were unsuccessful. McLaren is in control of the situation, but they have very high hopes that need to be fulfilled in order to show that the prestigious brand has once again become a competitor for the championship.

In the recent race, Carlos Sainz from Ferrari finished in fourth place and Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes came in fifth. However, George Russell, who is also on the Mercedes team, was unexpectedly knocked out in the first qualifying round.

During the first quarter of the race, Sergio Pérez from Red Bull once again showed a lack of skill, hitting the curb, losing control of the rear of his car at turn eight, and causing a crash that led to the session being halted.

The Mexican driver at Red Bull is facing uncertainty about the future of his position on the team due to his recent string of underwhelming performances, especially during qualifying sessions. His contract was recently renewed until the end of 2025, but there are rumors that it includes a clause related to his performance. It appears that Red Bull may not be willing to continue supporting him if he continues to underperform. In the latest race, he set a slow time and ended up finishing in 16th place.

The interruption proved to be expensive for Russell as Mercedes decided not to fully fuel his car for the rest of the session. As a result, the British driver missed out on the opportunity to benefit from the improving track conditions after the break and ended up being eliminated in 17th place.

Charles Leclerc finished in sixth place driving for Ferrari, while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll claimed seventh and eighth place for Aston Martin. Daniel Ricciardo secured ninth place for Red Bull Racing, with his teammate Tsunoda rounding out the top 10.

Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finished in 11th and 15th place, respectively, for the Haas team. Valtteri Bottas came in 12th for Sauber, while Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant landed in 13th and 14th place for Williams. Guanyu Zhou ended in 18th place for Sauber, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in 19th and 20th place for Alpine.