Hungarian GP qualifying results: Leclerc stuns McLaren as Hamilton slips up

Charles Leclerc scored a surprise pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, denying the McLaren duo at the final moment. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, meanwhile, experienced miserable afternoons at the Hungaroring.

The first Q1 runs made for concerning reading for the Red Bull duo. Verstappen was only 13th fastest, while Yuki Tsunoda was slumped down in 17th after his initial effort. The reigning world champion's second effort was only good enough to climb to seventh, and he was quickly demoted down the order to 11th.

Tsunoda was not so lucky. After a torrid FP3 session earlier in the day, the Japanese driver's fortunes took another negative turn, dropping out in Q1. Both Ferrari drivers were able to avoid the same fate after stronger final efforts.

An extra wrinkle was thrown into the mix at the start of Q2 as team members on the pit wall started to report spots of rain. However, this didn't really affect the first batch of laps. In a nod to last weekend's Belgian GP, Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli were both in danger as the clock ran down.

All the while, Aston Martin staked their claim as surprise candidates for the second row. When the chips were down, Hamilton couldn't muster some of his trademark Hungaroring magic. The Brit was eliminated in Q2, along with his Mercedes successor, Antonelli.

Norris' first Q3 lap was a little messier than the Brit would have hoped for, allowing Piastri to jump him by a tenth of a second. However, with both McLaren drivers failing to improve on their final efforts, Leclerc snuck in to snatch his 27th career pole position in a remarkable fashion.

Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying results

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

4. George Rusell (Mercedes)

5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

6. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

7. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

8. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

11. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

12. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

13. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

15. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

16. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

18. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

19. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

20. Alex Albon (Williams)

For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express F1 newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here