As the green light flickered on for the opening phase of Hungarian Qualifying, all 22 drivers poured onto the dusty circuit, eager to establish a baseline time and avoid getting caught out by late traffic.
Q1: Alonso amazes and astonishes
The early pace of Hungarian Qualifying was dictated by Ferrari and McLaren, with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris exchanging rapid benchmark sector times. However, track evolution proved to be the ultimate game-changer as the rubber laid down in the scorching Hungarian heat allowed times to tumble drastically in the final minutes of the session.
Traffic in Sector 3 created high-stakes tension for the mid-pack runners struggling on the bubble. While the top teams safely secured their spots into Q2 with minimal fuss, a flurry of late flying laps from the midfield saw several big names fighting for survival down to the final sector.
When the chequered flag fell, a mere few tenths of a second made the ultimate difference between advancing and an early shower, setting up a tantalizing Q2 battle under the afternoon sun.
Out in Q1 were Bearman, the Williams, Stroll, and the Cadillacs; a disappointing result for Williams as team principal James Vowles says the car is “all over the place”.
More positive results can be said for Aston Martin, as Alonso makes it through to Q2 for the first time in 2026, after qualifying on the back row for the past five rounds. The upgrades they have introduced this weekend seem to have paid off handsomely.
Q2: A fight against the clock
As the second part of Hungarian Qualifying begins, Alonso sets a 1:20.696 for his first flying lap, half a second slower than his final Q1 time.
Bortoleto seems on a fast lap until Hadjar spins on track, entrailing a yellow flag and putting an end to the former’s attempt.
Arvid Lindblad makes an early impression with a third-place lap, as Lewis Hamilton goes fastest. Leclerc is noted for a yellow flag infringement, but is absolved with no further investigation.
With seven minutes left, Hadjar suffered from understeer and took a spin into the gravel at Turn 12, causing Bortoleto to abort his lap again.
Kimi Antonelli seems to struggle with grip as he goes on the radio to voice his complaint:
“I’ve got no grip, Bono. Like, I don’t know, we’re doing something wrong with tyres. I have zero grip.”
Kimi Antonelli
With two minutes left, Antonelli finds himself in 15th place with only one lap to save him from the relegation zone, but he delivers with his used set of tyres, and places himself in 8th place.
As the session comes to an end, Leclerc is almost out of Q2 as other drivers continue to optimize their lap times, but he pulls a fabulous lap from under his sleeve and safely positions himself in second place, behind Norris.
Out of the session are Lawson —whose teammate Lindblad achieves his fourth Q3 appearances in a row in 6th place—, the two Alpines, Bortoleto, Ocon, and Alonso.
Q3: Norris on top
As the afternoon makes way for the final session of Hungarian Qualifying, drivers begin fighting for the pole position. Lando Norris strings together a stellar lap and takes the provisional pole before Lewis Hamilton replaces him at the top of the timesheets.
With 4 minutes left, all 10 drivers return to the pits to change rubber and go back on track for their final flying laps.
Lewis Hamilton is on provisional pole which appears to continue as most drivers fail to improve their lap times. Hamilton and Leclerc remain in first and third respectively, and Antonelli —who was improving at that point— had to lift off and ruin his fast lap. Lando Norris, however, was unbothered by the yellow flags and continued his lap to improve his times substantially and snatches pole position from Hamilton.
