Key events
Lap 19 of 70: Verstappen complains that he can’t brake and is struggling with corners, all of which sounds less than ideal. As for Hamilton, he is back out on hard compound tyres and racks up the fastest lap of the race so far.
Lap 18 of 70: Hamilton is the first of the top six to pit, and is followed by Norris. Red Bull won’t immediately respond to that Mercedes undercut, opting to stay out for now.
Lap 16 of 70: A ponderous pit-stop from Stroll sees him return to the race in 16th place, behind teammate Alonso. In fourth, Hamilton is going well and is just over a second behind Verstappen.
Lap 14 of 70: “Your race is with Verstappen,” McLaren tell Norris over the radio, which will be dispiriting news for the pole-sitter. He’s currently sat 3.5s behind Piastri, with about the same time advantage over the Red Bull.
Lap 13 of 70: Some intriguing battles in midfield, with Russell (and Perez) pushing for the top 10 but being held up by a strong drive from Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas. Lance Stroll, meanwhile, is still out on soft tyres in seventh place.
Lap 12 of 70: Here’s the top 10 as it stands.
1) Piastri 2) Norris 3) Verstappen 4) Hamilton 5) Leclerc 6) Sainz 7) Stroll 8) Tsunoda 9) Bottas 10) Russell
Lap 10 of 70: Piastri tells the team radio he feels comfortable with his race pace, now almost three seconds clear of Norris. McLaren ask him to try and manage his tyres on what is a sizzling day on the outskirts of Budapest.
Lap 8 of 70: Fernando Alonso, who started on softs, has also pitted, with teammate Lance Stroll set to follow. The top six all started on medium tyres, and the timing of two-stop strategies may be crucial.
Lap 7 of 70: Several of the stragglers in the field are pitting early for their first change of tyres. Russell and Pérez, both trying to move up the field quickly, are running hard tyres.
Lap 6 of 70: Oscar Piastri leads Norris by 2.5 seconds, with a piping-hot Verstappen 1.5 secs behind in third. Lewis Hamilton is tucked in fourth place, ahead of the two Ferraris.
Lap 4 of 70: “So you can just run people off the track then?” is Verstappen’s view on the radio. But replays show that Norris was having to keep clear of Piastri on his inside, so had little option.
Lap 3 of 70: The stewards are investigating, but Red Bull tell Verstappen he should give the place back on the track. The defending champion isn’t happy about it all, but allows Norris to pass.
Lap 2 of 70: Well, safe to say the Norris-Verstappen beef is back on. The McLaren man feels Verstappen gained an advantage by running wide; the Red Bull driver is saying he was forced off the track. As for Piastri, he’s got a 1.2sec lead on Verstappen …
Here we go!
Norris gets away at speed, but has Piastri and Verstappen either side of him into the first corner … the Red Bull goes wide, and it’s Piastri who takes the lead! Verstappen cuts back onto the track in second but Norris, on the team radio, says the Dutchman should give his place back …
They’re off on the formation lap; with uncertainty over Norris’ throttle, teammate Oscar Piastri might be eyeing a maiden Grand Prix victory today. This is fertile ground for such results: Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button all got their first chequered flags here, as did Esteban Ocon after a chaotic race back in 2021.
Norris is now watching on from under an umbrella, brow furrowed – but the McLaren boffins are looking more positive that they’ve fixed the issue. Lights out in 10 minutes.
Lando Norris tells the team radio “something is definitely not right with the throttle.” As the Hungarian national anthem strikes up, McLaren mechanics are frantically trying to fix the issue.
Martin Brundle is out on the grid, where pole-sitter Lando Norris is reportedly experiencing throttle issues. Brunds grabs a chat with Christian Horner, who is standing a long way down the grid, next to 16th-placed Sergio Pérez.
“Horrible day for Checo yesterday, [but] the boys have done an amazing job. The best reward would be some points.” At the other end, can Verstappen overtake the pair of McLarens? “We’ll give it a go.”
And here are the constructors’ standings…
1) Red Bull 373pts
2) Ferrari 302pts
3) McLaren 295pts
4) Mercedes 221pts
5) Aston Martin 68pts
6) RB 31pts
7) Haas 27pts
8) Alpine 9pts
9) Williams 4pts
10) Sauber 0pts
Here’s how the drivers’ title race top 10 currently stands:
1) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 255pts
2) Lando Norris (McLaren) 171pts
3) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 150pts
4) Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 146pts
5) Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 124pts
6) Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) 118pts
7) George Russell (Mercedes) 111pts
8) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 110pts
9) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 45pts
10) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 23pts
It was a dramatic qualifying session at the Hungaroring yesterday. George Russell limped out in Q1, Sergio Pérez and Yuki Tsunoda both crashed and Norris took pole at the end of a long, rain-hit day.
The grid
1) Lando Norris (McLaren)
2) Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4) Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
6) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
7) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
8) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
9) Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
10) Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
11) Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
12) Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
13) Alexander Albon (Williams)
14) Logan Sargeant (Williams)
15) Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
16) Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
17) George Russell (Mercedes)
18) Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
19) Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
20) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Preamble
Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s vice-like grip on Formula One has been loosened in recent months – but a standout title rival has yet to fully emerge. After Mercedes victories for George Russell in Austria and Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, today it is McLaren leading the fight against the empire, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locking out the front row of the grid ahead of the frustrated champion.
Saturday saw McLaren’s first qualifying one-two since 2012, but it’s no big surprise. The resurgent team have had the fastest car since Norris won in Miami; the problem has been converting that advantage into Sunday success. They have another chance to do so today but Verstappen – who has won the last two races here from second and 10th on the grid – will be eager to crush the rebellion.
