After McLaren dominated all three practice sessions as well as the first two segments of qualifying, the wind shifted for Q3 on Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
So too did the fight for pole position.
Instead of Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris, it will be Charles Leclerc up front when the lights go out later today at the Hungaroring. Leclerc shocked the Formula 1 world, and himself, to take pole position on Saturday.
He will have a tough task ahead of him in keeping those fast McLarens at bay over the 70-lap Hungarian Grand Prix, and complicating factors are the weather forecast. As of Saturday night, forecasts were calling for a rainy Sunday morning in Budapest, as well as potential rain in the hour leading up to the race itself.
In other words, it could be a fascinating Hungarian Grand Prix.
We’ll have it all covered for you here on SB Nation, with live coverage beginning on Sunday ahead of the race itself, which begins at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. So come back early and often!
Note: Updates are either in Eastern time before and after the race, or by Lap number.
Race Notes
Lap 9: F1TV shows a replay of the moment where Hadjar is hit by a cloud of gravel. Running behind Bearman, the Haas driver dips into the gravel and Hadjar drives through the cloud. You can see the VCARB driver pull his left hand off the steering wheel as he reacts.
Lap 8: Bortoleto is cleared of a potential false start, and he remains up in P6 without fear of a penalty. Hülkenberg, who is still under investigation for his own potential false start, just delivered the fastest lap of the race down in P20.
Lap 7: Norris just posted the fastest lap of the race.
Hadjar reports to his team over the radio that his hand is “****ed,” after being hit with some gravel.
Lap 6: Bortoleto’s teammate Hülkenberg has also been noted for a potential false start.
Lap 5: Bortoleto is running in P6 but is under investigation for a potential false start.
Lap 3: Verstappen gets by Stroll with a daring move at the Turn 6 chicane for P7.
Lap 3: Using DRS, Norris gets by Alonso on the main straight to get into P4.
Lap 2: DRS is enabled and Norris needs to get back into P3 as quickly as possible.
Lap 1: Norris attacks to the inside off the start but Piastri closes the door, and Norris gets shuffled down to P5. Russell is up to P3 with Alonso into P4.
Pre-Race Notes
9:02: The top 11 drivers (Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Russell, Alonso, Stroll, Bortoleto, Verstappen, Lawson, Hadjar, and Bearman) are all on medium tires. Hamilton in P12 is the first driver on a different compound, as he is on the hards. Sainz is on the soft tire, as is Hülkenberg.
9:00: The Formation Lap is underway at the Hungaroring.
8:58: Of note, today is Verstappen’s 200th Grand Prix start with Red Bull.
8:54: On the F1TV pre-race show, Ruth Buscombe predicts a Piastri win, while James Hinchcliffe picks Norris. All three believe a combination of Norris, Piastri, and Leclerc will fill out the podium.
8:50: “This weekend has been very difficult for us,” admits Max Verstappen to Lawrence Barretto while walking to his RB21.
8:47: “I like our chances,” says Zak Brown on F1TV. “We’re gonna go for the win, that’s strategy number one.”
8:37: Speaking with Lawrence Barretto, Oscar Piastri sounds confident of taking the lead from P2 on the opening lap.
After all, he did just that in this race a season ago.
8:29: The reconnaissance lap is underway at the Hungaroring. The conditions are dry enough for the majority of drivers to be on the soft compound for this lap.
