Q1

Qualifying began under cloudy skies at the newly rebuilt Hungaroring. The Williams drivers, Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz, were among the first to take to the track. Sainz had a lock-up into Turn 1, which affected his lap time. Albon set a 1:17.441, while Sainz clocked in at 1:18.282.

More drivers soon joined, including Max Verstappen, who set two purple sectors on his first timed lap. However, Lando Norris managed to take the final purple sector from him. Oscar Piastri, Norris’ teammate, then completed a lap with all three purple sectors, setting the fastest time so far with a 1:15.554.

With 10 minutes left in Q1, the top five were: Piastri, Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, and Stroll. Charles Leclerc moved into 7th place, while Isack Hadjar impressed with 5th.

The Mercedes pair showed strong pace and split the McLaren drivers, holding 2nd and 3rd. With 7 minutes to go, it looked like the drivers at risk of elimination were: Sainz, Tsunoda, Bearman, Gasly, and Ocon. This would have been bad news for Alpine, as Franco Colapinto was only just inside the top 10, showing decent pace.

In the final minutes, drivers either pushed for faster laps or waited in the pits. Alonso briefly held P1, 0.273s ahead of Piastri, but Piastri responded with another flying lap to reclaim provisional pole. Verstappen improved to 6th, and his teammate moved up to 9th from the drop zone. Sainz also escaped elimination by moving up to 7th.

In the final seconds, Leclerc put in a strong lap to jump to 5th. Albon tried to improve but stayed in 17th. Ocon improved to 15th, but was knocked out by his teammate Colapinto, who moved into 10th.

Eliminated: Tsunoda, Gasly, Ocon, Hülkenberg, Albon

Q2

The start of Q2 was delayed while marshals cleaned the track, and then rain began falling on parts of the circuit just as the session got underway. Kimi Antonelli was the first to set a lap time, but Alonso quickly took the lead, with Stroll and Hadjar close behind.

Lando Norris then stormed to the top with a lap of 1:14.890. Piastri later slotted into second. At this point, Verstappen sat in 8th, while the drivers at risk were Hamilton, Sainz, Bortoleto, Antonelli, and Colapinto.

In the final five minutes, the McLarens remained at the top, with Stroll still in a strong 3rd. Both Ferrari drivers managed to improve, with Leclerc going 5th and Hamilton up to 9th. Antonelli improved to 8th but remained at risk. Verstappen improved to 8th as well, while Hamilton and Antonelli dropped into the danger zone again.

Colapinto was unable to improve and ended in 15th, Sainz finished 14th, and Bearman ended in 12th. Hamilton only managed 13th, and Antonelli had his final lap time deleted for a track limits violation, finishing in 15th.

Eliminated: Bearman, Hamilton, Sainz, Colapinto, Antonelli

Q3

Aston Martin showed strong pace in Q3, with both drivers looking fast and briefly holding 1st and 2nd. But it didn’t take long for Norris to take provisional pole, only to be beaten by his teammate Piastri soon after.

George Russell put in a solid lap and went 3rd. The order at this point was: Piastri, Norris, Russell, Alonso, Verstappen, Leclerc, Lawson, Bortoleto, Stroll, and Hadjar.

In the final five minutes, Lance Stroll set a brilliant lap to go 4th after having no time earlier. Alonso then came very close to provisional pole, missing it by just 0.083s.

Leclerc surprised everyone by taking provisional pole late in the session. Norris tried to respond but could only manage 3rd, and even Piastri couldn’t beat Leclerc’s time. Verstappen had a tough session and could only finish 8th, his worst qualifying result of the season.