F1 Hungarian Grand Prix LIVE RESULTS: Verstappen WINS with Lewis Hamilton in SECOND in thriller – reaction
DUTCH ace Max Verstappen performed the drive of the 2022 season after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix after starting tenth.
And there was double joy for Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both finishing on the podium.
Red Bull driver Verstappen has extended his Championship lead to 80 points with his nearest rival Charles Leclerc coming home in sixth.
It was a disappointing performance from the Ferrari man who had been leading the race.
His team-mate Carlos Sainz finished in fourth, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez in fifth.
- Grand Prix: Sunday, July 31 - 2pm BST
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Hamilton pleased for Russell
Lewis Hamilton put his seventh place on the grid to one side to praise maiden pole-winner and Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Hamilton said: "Its the first time we've had a shot at the front row.
"I am happy for George, it's his first pole and he truly deserves it. He did an amazing job.
"It's a shame we couldn't lock out the front row, that would have been amazing."
Verstappen: I need 'Mercedes favour'
Championship leader Max Verstappen had an engine problem and only qualified 10th place - the first time in four years either he or Lewis Hamilton had not qualified in the top six, writes BEN HUNT.
Verstappen said: "I just had no power exiting the pit lane on that final run. The engine was running but there was no release of power and that was painful.
"Mercedes need to do me a favour tomorrow! I was surprised to see George on pole. They were close but I didn't expect them to make that jump in Q3.
"I don't think about the points so much. I'm just disappointed that these things happen."
I'm in Toto shock
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted George Russell's pole was a shock, writes BEN HUNT.
He said: "We just need to write down everything we did this morning, including the food and drinks we drank in order to replicate it!
"We wanted to play it easy until the summer break and then interfere again. The truth is we saw in qualifying our tyres were in the right window and the car was balanced and George gained confidence and this is the result.
"In these moments you want to cry for joy for the pole but equally you know the car was there for Lewis to be there too, so it is bittersweet.
"One swallow does not make it a summer. It was a solid result. We are on pole so let's see what we do with it in the race."
'This is what racing is about'
George Russell says feelings like his maiden pole are beyond his dreams.
The Mercedes man has made an excellent start to the season where he has held his own going up alongside seven times world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
And it was somewhat fitting that Russell, 24, would get the team's first pole of the season while Hamilton's DRS problem means he will start down in seventh.
Russell said: "Friday was probably our toughest Friday of the whole season. To come back and grab pole position 24 hours later, it's just such a feeling because I know what we went through last night.
"There's no points for qualifying but I guess getting this result for all of us, is pretty huge.
"When you are on one of those laps and you are in the groove and the rhythm, it just keeps on coming, keeps on coming.
"This is what racing is about. This is why I wake up every day and I want to be world champion, because feelings like this are something you can't really dream of."
Carlos blames errors for Russell pole
Carlos Sainz blamed tiny errors for George Russell pipping him for pole.
Mercedes ace Russell will line up ahead of Ferrari pair Sainz and Charles Leclerc for tomorrow's Hungarian GP, with Lando Norris fourth.
Monegasque driver Leclerc said: "Today has not been a great day.
"I have been struggling massively with the tyres, just struggling to get the tyres in the right window.
"The pace is there, we just have to understand what went on with the tyres and we can come back tomorrow."
Russell 'over the moon'
George Russell hailed his shock pole for tomorrow's Hungarian GP.
Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate said: "Over the moon. Absolutely buzzing.
"Yesterday was probably our worst Friday of the entire season. We didn't really know what direction to go in and then that last lap, I went round Turn One, mega; Turn Two, mega and the lap time just kept on coming.
"We need to look into it and understand where that came from.
"No points today but we are going to be absolutely going for it.";
Jake lands first win
Jake Dennis cruised to victory at Formula E’s London EPrix to gain his first win of the season, writes FRANKIE CHRISTOU.
The Andretti Avalanche driver led from start to finish after holding off Mercedes drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries, who finished second and third.
The Nuneaton-born racer, 27, said: “It was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done just physically.
“The surface, it’s an indoor surface, it’s so hard to turn the steering wheel. But we managed 45 minutes, and honestly the car was amazing.
“An insane race and honestly when I crossed the chequered flag hearing the fans was one of the best experiences of my life – so, so cool. So big thank you to all the fans out here and the British support.
“It was a technical race trying to manage Stoffel and Nyck, obviously two teammates working together.
"I had to manage that, and the team did a great job – the car was incredible, and the strategy was strong. From then it was just a case of bringing it home in the last 15 laps.”
Power unit issues
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has blamed power unit issues for the chaos that unravelled in Max Verstappen's final qualifying lap.
The World Champion's pole attempts were thwarted as he complained of having "no power" at the end of Hungary qualifying.
It's far from the first time Red Bull have faced mechanical issues, with reliability once again rearing its head in this year's championship battle.
Verstappen will start 10th tomorrow, with his teammate Sergio Perez 11th.
Lando Norris happy with Quali
Lando Norris has been speaking after qualifying 4th and directly ahead of his two Alpine rivals Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso.
He also paid tribute to his fellow Brit and friend George Russell on his pole.
"It's been a very good day for us. A bit disappointed that Geroge takes the glory off me but very happy for him!
"P4 is a good position for us on a track where it's not easy to overtake on.
";Considering where we were at the beginning of the season, this is good for us."
Big moment for Russell
Like most F1 drivers, George Russell was likely dreaming of his first pole and first win before he had even completed puberty.
Today he does the former with a brilliant lap, and becomes the 3rd driver this season to claim their first pole (following Perez in Saudi Arabia in March and Sainz at Silverstone at the beginning of this month).
The result also means Russell is the 105th polesitter in F1 history.
Dream for Mercedes
Mercedes hadn't been on pole all season but they've ended that now after a whopping lap from George Russell.
Given the fact that the Silver Arrows have had good race pace all season, there's no reason they can't win the race tomorrow with a bit of luck.
We could be in for another belting race in Hungary with Sainz and Leclerc directly behind Russell, Norris in 4th, Hamilton in 7th behind both Alpines and the two Red Bulls - including Championship leader Max Verstappen - needing to hustle their way to the front of the grid.
Punchy words from polesitter George Russell
"I'm over the moon, absolutely buzzing. Yesterday was probably our worst Friday of the season and then [today] the last lap was mega and the lap time just kept on coming.
"And then I came across the line saw we were P1.
"We need to look into it and see where [that pace] came from. We generally have good race pace and we'll be absolutely going for it."
What a grid
So many stories on this grid after qualifying with so many drivers out of position
What a Q3
In a dramatic Q3, George Russell has stuck it on pole but so much more happened.
Lewis Hamilton had a DRS issue and so had to pit instead of doing his final lap. He'll start P7.
Max Verstappen's Red Bull ran out of power, and he'll start 10th, only a place ahead of his teammate.
The Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc are 2nd and 3rd respectively, and Sainz will be wondering how he didn't claim pole.
Wow
Incredible
For the first time in his Formula 1 career, George Russell is on pole! Who saw that coming??
No power
Max Verstappen has reported having "no power" as he leaves for his outlap.
The race engineers are trying to help him fix it but this could be it for Verstappen. If he can't get the car to start working again, he will qualify 7th at best.
Q3 First Runs
Carlos Sainz is on provisional pole and incredibly George Russell has popped himself into p2 for the time being. Who would have predicted this as a top two?
Leclerc is 3rd after the first run, Hamilton 4th, Alonso 5th, Norris 6th, Verstappen only 7th after he made a mistake, Ocon 8th, Bottas 9th, Ricciardo 10th.
No cars on the track as they retire to the garage before having one final run to try and set their fastest time. Things looking very good for Sainz at the moment.
The Fight for Pole
So in Q3 we have both Ferraris, both Mercedes, both McLarens, both Alpines, the one Red Bull of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas and his Alfa Romeo.
So far this season Charles Leclerc has picked up the most poles by some distance, with Verstappen in second. Perez and Sainz both have one each.
Could we have a new polesitter today? Perhaps a man who has already gotten pole eight times at this track like Sir Lewis Hamilton?
Q3 is now underway.
End of Q2
Along with Perez, we've lost both Hasses, the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu and Lance Stroll's Aston Martin.
Meanwhile, no since of a downpour of rain coming in Q3 despite reports of droplets hitting the track at the end of Q2.
Sergio Perez is out!
The Red Bull driver has had a shocking qualifying session and hasn't made it out of the bottom 5
There was some confusion over a deleted lap time which was then rescinded, but none of that matters now. Perez is set to start 11th tomorrow in a big blow to Red Bull.
This is the sixth consecutive year he has gone out at Q2 in Hungary.
Rain alert
"Some drops of rain on the back straight", Sergio Perez tells his race engineers on team radio.
No rain visible with the naked eye over the TV cameras at the moment, but that would make things very interesting in Q3 when the remaining 10 drivers fight for pole.
5 mins to go
Alonso is currently second quickest, with Ocon 6th. Good pace showed by Alpine.
Hamilton and Russell are currently fighting their way from the drop zone, with the seven-times World Champion now 3rd fastest and his teammate Russell 5th fastest.
Ferrari back on the pace
Ferrari look quick again on the first runs of Q2, as Leclerc and Sainz go 2nd and 3rd respectively.
But hold on a second - Lando Norris has just gone top of the time sheets on fresh tyres.
But he is quickly dispatched by Verstappen who is now quickest.
About 9 minutes to go in this session.
Rain watch
The clouds appear to be getting lighter, and there is currently no sign of rain.
So as we begin Q2 we march on in dry conditions which the Mercedes team - who looked horrendous in the wet this morning - will be delighted with.
Meanwhile, at the top
Very interesting as at the end of Q1 the two fastest cars are the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Carlos Sainz is 3rd and Max Verstappen 4th.
At this stage these times don't mean much, but it will be a boost of confidence for the Silver Arrows that they can fight for pole in about 30 minutes.