Charles Leclerc secured a remarkable and unexpected pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, surpassing Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as McLaren’s dominant practice pace diminished during a challenging qualifying session at Hungaroring.
During the initial phases of qualifying, championship leader Piastri and Norris posted the fastest times. However, a shift in wind direction during Q3 caught both drivers off guard, allowing only Leclerc to capitalize on the changed conditions. The Ferrari driver recorded a final flying lap of 1:15.372, narrowly surpassing provisional pole-sitter Piastri by just under three hundredths of a second, with Norris finishing third.
Following the session, Leclerc expressed surprise at his performance, stating, “Today, I don’t fully understand what happened in Formula 1. Honestly, qualifying was incredibly difficult. When I say extremely difficult, I mean it. It was a real challenge for us to reach Q2 and then Q3. In Q3, the conditions changed slightly, making everything much more complicated. I knew I just needed a clean lap to aim for third place. Ultimately, I secured pole position, which I did not expect.”
In Q1, Max Verstappen set the early pace with a time of 1:16.346. However, the McLaren drivers quickly outpaced that, with Piastri claiming the top spot with a 1:15.554—a little over four-tenths faster than Norris. Piastri improved further on his final run, clocking a 1:15.211 to take provisional pole position ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who recorded a strong lap to claim second place. Race debutant Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls also delivered an impressive performance, advancing to Q2. Norris finished fourth, with Leclerc in fifth.
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Further back, Verstappen’s initial time left him in 12th position. Although he improved on his final attempt, moving into the top 10 temporarily, better times elsewhere caused him to settle in 11th at the session’s end, indicating a challenging afternoon for Red Bull. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda posted a time just a tenth behind Verstappen but ultimately fell to 16th as other drivers posted faster laps. Tsunoda was eventually eliminated, along with Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Esteban Ocon (Haas), Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber), and last-placed Alex Albon (Williams).
As rain began to fall near the conclusion of Q2 at turn 6, a queue of cars formed in the pit lane to complete banker laps, should the weather worsen. Norris set the pace early on with a 1:14.890, edging out Piastri by five hundredths of a second; Alonso was in third with a 1:15.935. Leclerc, at this stage, was in tenth place and appeared to be struggling.
In the final runs, Leclerc improved significantly, climbing to sixth place, though still half a second slower than Norris’s best time. At the bottom of the top 10, Haas’ Ollie Bearman, Lewis Hamilton, Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli populated the order.
Entering Q3, Piastri secured provisional pole with a 1:15.398, just 0.096 seconds ahead of Norris, with George Russell in third. Expectations were high for a close battle between the McLaren drivers during the final runs. However, as the wind shifted and Piastri and Norris’s pace slowed, Leclerc found additional speed and seized the opportunity with a lap of 1:15.372, claiming Ferrari’s first pole of the season. He finished 0.026 seconds ahead of Piastri and four hundredths ahead of Norris, who took third. The session’s top qualifiers also included George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, Max Verstappen, and the Racing Bulls teammates Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1: 15.372 – –
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1: 15.398 0.026 0.034
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1: 15.413 0.041 0.054
4 George Russell Mercedes 1: 15.425 0.053 0.070
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1: 15.481 0.109 0.145
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1: 15.498 0.126 0.167
7 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1: 15.725 0.353 0.468
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1: 15.728 0.356 0.472
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1: 15.821 0.449 0.596
10 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1: 15.915 0.543 0.720
11 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1: 15.694 0.322 0.427
12 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1: 15.702 0.330 0.438
13 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1: 15.781 0.409 0.543
14 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1: 16.159 0.787 1.044
15 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1: 16.386 1.014 1.345
16 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1: 15.899 0.527 0.699
17 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1: 15.966 0.594 0.788
18 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1: 16.023 0.651 0.864
19 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1: 16.081 0.709 0.941
20 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1: 16.223 0.851 1.12
Photo/CharlesLeclerc/X
