Reigning World Champion Lando Norris denied Lewis Hamilton a tenth pole at the circuit by the narrowest margins. He snatched the F1 Hungarian GP pole position with a final lap that came just 0.012 seconds clear of the Ferrari driver.

It capped a frantic, twisting hour of qualifying at the Hungaroring – a circuit so tight and technical it has long been nicknamed “Monaco without the walls” – as Formula 1 heads into its summer shutdown.

Norris Sets the Pace in Q1 Amid Track-Limits Chaos

Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac was the first man on track when Q1 got underway, though he immediately aborted his opening lap. The Williams pair and the Aston Martins followed him out shortly after.

Carlos Sainz started his own opening lap only to run straight off at Turn 4, forcing him to abandon the attempt. A repeat of the track-limits trouble that had already dogged several drivers, including Kimi Antonelli across the practice sessions.

Bottas eventually set the first representative time of 1:33.571. Hamilton quickly went triple purple sectors on his medium tyres and topped the board with a 1:18.730. Teammate Charles Leclerc slotted in just 0.148s behind. However, his own effort was chalked off for exceeding track limits at Turn 3.

Max Verstappen briefly took over at the top, 0.074s clear of Hamilton before Norris responded in style. Three purple sectors and a 1:18.277 handed him a 0.379s advantage over the Red Bull. Gabriel Bortoleto also had a time deleted for track limits, this time at Turn 4, as the drop zone continued to shuffle.

The second runs brought chaos to the bottom half of the order. Sainz briefly hauled himself clear of the elimination zone by 0.062s, pushing Alex Albon the wrong way. Meanwhile, Bortoleto climbed to ninth to drag both Williams cars into the elimination zone.

Fernando Alonso, buoyed by his new parts, moved as high as the top ten during the second run, pushing him to Q2. Pierre Gasly squeezed into the top fifteen in the closing seconds, with Franco Colapinto following him through and bumping Oliver Bearman out.

When the chequered flag fell, it was Norris, Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli who topped Q1. Eliminated at the foot of the timesheets were Bearman, Sainz, Albon, Lance Stroll and both Cadillacs.

Alonso Impresses Before Hadjar Spin Interrupts the Order

Alonso set the very first time of Q2, a 1:20.696, as Aston Martin looked to build on their Q1 promise. Verstappen soon went quickest with a 1:18.249 despite a wiggle at Turn 13. However, teammate Isack Hadjar lost the rear of his car entirely at Turn 12, spinning into the gravel and grass and bringing out the yellow flags.

Norris responded to the interruption by going second on used tyres, 0.317s off Verstappen’s pace. Though, it did not stay for long as Antonelli – who had earlier reported “zero grip” on his tyres over team radio – jumped to the top with a 1:18.178.

George Russell had to abort his own lap when the yellow flags came out for Hadjar’s spin, leaving him without a representative time at the stage. Leclerc, meanwhile, was investigated for a yellow-flag infringement of his own but escaped with no further action.

Hamilton then set the benchmark with a 1:17.931 – just eight thousandths quicker than Norris’ own best time from FP3. Hadjar went fastest of all moments later with a 1:17.872. Antonelli had a lap time deleted for track limits with two minutes remaining, dropping him to 15th. He hauled himself back to safety with a P7.

Norris then found purple sectors again to go fastest with a 1:17.456, nearly half a second clear of Hadjar. Meanwhile, Leclerc climbed from the drop zone all the way to second, just 0.170s off the McLaren’s pace.

“There’s a high chance I broke the floor in Turn 3.” – Esteban Ocon of Haas, on team radio after Q2

Lawson, Gasly, Colapinto, Bortoleto, Ocon and Alonso were eliminated from Q2. Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton were the top three heading into the Hungarian GP pole shootout.

Norris Denies Hamilton Hungarian GP Pole in Final Last-Gasp Run

Verstappen was first on track in Q3. He set an opening benchmark of 1:17.725 before Oscar Piastri went 0.041s quicker. Norris then delivered a 1:17.320 to top the times, only for Hamilton to go fastest of all. He was a clear tenth ahead of the McLaren with a 1:17.219.

Leclerc slotted into third, 0.226s behind his teammate, with Antonelli fourth and Piastri fifth. Verstappen and Russell rounded out the top seven, the latter half a second off the pace. McLaren and Ferrari both opted to save a set of tyres for Sunday’s Grand prix, meaning the fight for pole would come down to a single flying lap apiece in the closing minutes.

Hamilton was the first to complete his final lap but with no improvement, over a second down on his best through the first two sectors. Leclerc was the same moments later. Verstappen then spun at the final corner, bringing out the yellow flags and catching out both Mercedes drivers as they attempted to respond.

Norris, unaffected, continued to find time. His final lap of 1:17.207 was enough to snatch the Hungarian GP pole position by just 0.012 seconds from Hamilton, who is under investigation for impeding Piastri. Russell brought out one final yellow flag of his own, stopping on track at Turn 1 while running seventh.

It means Norris will start Sunday’s race from the front for the first time since Miami, in what has otherwise been a season dominated by Mercedes at the front of the grid. This also sets up what promises to be a fascinating fight through the field on Sunday, with barely a tenth separating the top four cars on the timesheet.