Formula 1

Hungarian GP: Hamilton secures pole as Red Bull mix up strategy

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Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position and even had a chance to wind up Red Bull more in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Briton set a strong benchmark at the start of Q3 and didn't mind playing a few delay tactics to disrupt Max Verstappen's final attempt at pole.

As a result, the Dutchman was left to rue a poor first run in the top 10 shootout as he only took third, but may hold a key advantage over both Mercedes' for the start.

Q1

Verstappen set the pace at the front, two-tenths clear of Hamilton.

In the knockout zone, after back-to-back Q3 appearances, George Russell suffered his first Q1 exit of the season in 17th for Williams.

The Briton only just led teammate Nicholas Latifi, who was unhappy in 18th.

After his Friday crash, Yuki Tsunoda wasn't too disappointed with 16th for AlphaTauri.

Nikita Mazepin took 19th as Mick Schumacher was unable to take part in qualifying following his crash at Turn 11 in final practice.

Q2

Carlos Sainz is set to start P15 at best after crashing out of qualifying at the final corner and causing a red flag.

That position could yet be worse for the Ferrari driver, who hit the barrier fairly hard side on and may need a new gearbox.

Both Red Bull and Mercedes opted for the medium tyre initially to start Sunday's race, however, both Verstappen and Sergio Perez switched to the soft for their final run in a change of strategy.

A last-gasp flier from Sebastian Vettel dropped Daniel Ricciardo to P11 for McLaren, who missed the top 10 by just 0.077s.

Lance Stroll was 12th in the other Aston Martin, ahead of the two Alfa Romeo's as Kimi Raikkonen led teammate Antonio Giovinazzi.

Q3

Mercedes owned the first run of Q3, with Hamilton posting a 1m15.419s, three-tenths faster than Bottas and half a second up on Verstappen in third.

That allowed the world champion to play a few games with Red Bull on the second run as he appeared to delay both Max and Perez behind.

Verstappen was just able to cross the finish line in time to start his flying lap but couldn't improve on third, as Hamilton secured his first official pole position since Spain.

While Perez didn't start his lap in time and only just held onto fourth despite being six-tenths back from the leading trio.

In fact, just 0.075s covered four drivers from the Mexican in P4 to Charles Leclerc in eighth on what turned into a disappointing day for Ferrari.

Pierre Gasly was the lead midfield in fifth, just 0.062s slower than the Red Bull in the AlphaTauri as he continues to make his case for a 2022 return.

On a circuit that wasn't expected to suit them, McLaren will be delighted to see Lando Norris sixth just ahead of Leclerc.

Esteban Ocon pipped Fernando Alonso into eighth in the battles of the Alpines, as Vettel completed the top 10.

Back at the front, while Mercedes have the speed, Red Bull have a great chance to use their soft tyres and get ahead at the start on Sunday.

At this point, it's hard to tell exactly how the different strategies will out but the prospect of Hamilton and Verstappen going wheel-to-wheel into Turn 1 tomorrow is very enticing indeed!

Full results from qualifying can be seen below:

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