New Formula 1 rule for the first time
Hamilton shocks Verstappen in Hungary qualification
07/22/2023, 5:21 p.m
Is that close: Lewis Hamilton puts everything into his qualifying lap and snatches pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix from Max Verstappen very late. The Mercedes driver, who now has a new contract, is only three thousandths faster than his Red Bull competitor.
New regulations, new picture: Record world champion Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain gave the Dutch title defender Max Verstappen the pole for the Hungarian Grand Prix in an exciting qualifying session (Sunday, 3 p.m. on Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker) snatched. The Mercedes star prevailed at the Hungaroring with a narrow lead of three thousandths of a second over Verstappen. Third place went to another Brit with the recently strong Lando Norris in a McLaren.
“It’s been a crazy year and a half,” Hamilton said. “I almost lost my voice from screaming in the car. It feels like the very first time.” Verstappen felt that “we should be at the front with this car, but that didn’t quite work out”.
First pole for Hamilton in 2021
For Hamilton, it was the first pole since December 5, 2021 and the 104th of his career. Nico Hülkenberg (Emmerich) again showed a strong qualifying performance in the Haas and started the race in tenth place. After the last six wins in a row, Verstappen leads the World Championship by 99 points, the closest “pursuer” is his teammate Perez. With his 255 points, Verstappen alone would lead the team classification.
Red Bull can set a new record of twelve consecutive wins in Hungary on Sunday. The shower racing stable currently shares the record of eleven consecutive wins with McLaren, who accomplished this feat in 1988 with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
Verstappen and Co. did not have a free choice of tires for the first time in qualifying. Formula 1 tested a rule change called “Alternative Tire Allocation” at the Hungaroring to improve the sustainability of the sport. The drivers had to use the hard tire compound in the first run, the medium tires in the second and finally the fastest variant with the softs in the third. The format will be tested a second time in Monza in early September.