George Russell of Mercedes beat both Ferraris and world champion Max Verstappen to claim his maiden pole position with a spectacular last-gasp lap in Saturday’s qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Briton clocked a best lap in one minute and 17.377 seconds to outpace Carlos Sainz in the leading Ferrari by 0.044 seconds. Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, one-tenth adrift.
Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren was ninth and Red Bull’s series leader and world champion Verstappen 10th after suffering power failure problems and failing to record a competitive lap time. Back in the pitlane, as the big crowd gave him generous cheers, he said he was"over the moon" and"buzzing – and yesterday was our worst Friday of the season… It’s mega. An incredible feeling."
After a rain-hit final practice session earlier in the day, qualifying began in dry conditions with some sunshine – and every driver emerging quickly on soft tyres to take advantage of the improved weather.After early fastest laps from Magnussen, Stroll and Hamilton, Verstappen set the pace in a close scrap with the two Ferraris before Hamilton and Russell took over for Mercedes, taking advantage of warmer conditions after earlier struggles.
"Not what I wanted," he said."It’s been really nice , but my head is in qualifying and we had a poor day. I can’t be happy."Although a large dark cloud loomed, the track remained dry for Q2 with Norris taking top spot early for McLaren, ahead of the fast Ferraris before Verstappen gained the initiative with the first lap inside 1m 18secs and stayed there.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
SOCCER: Swapping tips with David De Gea helped improve performances, says England’s Mary EarpsEngland, chasing a maiden European crown, are set to meet record champions Germany in Sunday’s final.
Read more »
Ferrari aim for one-two in Hungary after losing points in FranceItalian team 82 points adrift in F1 constructors’ standings after Leclerc’s costly crash
Read more »
Manqoba Mngqithi: Bafana Bafana to benefit from Ronwen Williams' Mamelodi Sundowns moveManqoba Mngqithi has claimed that Bafana Bafana will benefit from Ronwen Williams' transfer to Mamelodi Sundowns. Read more ➡️
Read more »
Reports: Benni McCarthy joins Manchester United coaching staffReports coming out of England claim that Benni McCarthy has joined Manchester United's coaching staff.
Read more »