Lewis Hamilton is having a rebound year for Ferrari. Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, the 41-year-old was looking to accomplish something no driver had ever done there: earn his 10th pole position. McLaren’s Lando Norris, however, had different plans.
At the last second, Norris snatched Hamilton’s chances at making history in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. Norris crossed the line with a qualifying time of 1:17.207 to take pole position, followed by Hamilton (1:17.219) and his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc (1:17.445). 19-year-old sensation Kimi Antonelli (1:17.479) settled for fourth place for Mercedes.
It’s one thing to take pole position. It’s another to convert those opportunities into wins, and Hamilton has done exactly that at the Hungarian Grand Prix, converting six of his nine pole positions into wins. He’s won the race a track record eight times.
Hamilton told F1TV what he thinks transpired that resulted in narrowly losing pole position.
“The grip for some reason wasn’t there on that last lap, for both Charles and I,” he said. “It’s obviously a track that I love. I think we’re obviously competitive, but I think tomorrow’s going to be a hard day.”
Not only does Hamilton love the track, the track loves him, as Turn 2 is named after him.
Hamilton Under Investigation?
There were two yellow flags in Q3, after Red Bulls’ Max Verstappen spun out due to a “completely broken” car. Mercedes’ George Russell triggered the second flag after he was instructed to abandon the session. During that same session, it’s reported that Hamilton may have impeded McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, which has triggered a probe into the ordeal.
According to multiple reports, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (or the FIA, F1’s governing body) is currently investigating Hamilton after Piastri found a slow Hamilton in Turn 1 in his first run in Q3. “F**k me, man,” Piastri exclaimed over the radio amid the sudden encounter, which did not help him improve his time.
“I saw him from the start line and kind of watched him, expecting him to get out of the way, and I watched him basically all the way up until I nearly hit him,” said Piastri, who took P5 (1:17.684). “So, yeah, a shame.”
No word yet on how the FIA will rule, but if Hamilton is indeed penalized, he’s facing a three-place penalty, which would drop him from P2 to P5 for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
