Hamilton secures 90th F1 pole position

Lewis Hamilton set a new track record as he qualified on pole position for the 90th time in his F1 career.

The reigning world champion will start the Hungarian Grand Prix alongside teammate Valtteri Bottas, with the Mercedes duo in a class of their own.

The Racing Point cars will be on row two, followed by the Ferraris, with Sebastian Vettel finishing just ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.

Track evolution meant there was a late rush to set a time in Q1, as George Russell briefly sat third with three minutes to go. Most of those who’ll be in the hunt for points in the race were able to improve their time, but some were caught out by the changing conditions.

Russell and teammate Nicholas Latifi both made it through to the second part of qualifying, meaning no Williams was eliminated in Q1 for the first time since the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.

Russell showed strong pace again in the second session to secure a spot on the sixth row of the grid for a second race running, outqualifying Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, who complained of traffic after struggling to improve his time late on.

Mercedes and Racing Point both had enough pace on the medium tyres in Q2 to make it through to the top 10 shootout, meaning they’ll both be on the yellow-striped tyre for the first stint in tomorrow’s race.

Pierre Gasly claimed a spot in Q3 despite complaining of engine troubles throughout qualifying, but was unable to get out to set a time in the final session, while Max Verstappen missed time in Q3 after also struggling with an apparent power unit issue, although Red Bull were able to send the Dutchman out again late on.

At the end of the session, the stewards were investigating an incident between Carlos Sainz and Antonio Giovinazzi, which could result in a grid penalty for the McLaren man if he’s found to have impeded the Italian.

Provisional qualifying result:

1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

3. Lance Stroll (Racing Point)

4. Sergio Perez (Racing Point)

5. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

8. Lando Norris (McLaren)

9. Carlos Sainz (McLaren)

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)

11. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault)

12. George Russell (Williams)

13. Alexander Albon (Red Bull)

14. Esteban Ocon (Renault)

15. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)

16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

17. Daniil Kvyat (Alpha Tauri)

18. Romain Grosjean (Haas)

19. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)

20. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)