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Formula 1
Hungarian GP
F1 Hungarian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Saturday's action from the 11th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season
F1 begins its final double-header before the summer break at the Hungaroring which hosts the 11th round of the 2023 season, with Red Bull still unbeaten this year.
Max Verstappen is on a run of six consecutive wins, and eight in total this season, to push out his F1 world championship lead to 99 points over team-mate Sergio Perez.
But the big talking point coming into this weekend has been the return of Daniel Ricciardo who has replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri for the rest of the season.
Friday's running was topped by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with no Red Bulls in the top 10 at the end of a day complicated by a lack of dry laps.
Saturday's action begins at 11:30am BST with FP3, with qualifying taking place at 3pm BST.
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And so it was Zhou who ended Q1 on top. Anybody see that coming? He ensures Verstappen's wait to top a session this weekend goes on, the runaway championship leader just behind him in second with Perez third.
Sainz ended Q1 in fourth ahead of Leclerc, with Piastri, Hamilton, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Norris completing the top 10.
Joining them in Q2, which takes place on the mediums don't forget, are Gasly, Bottas, Stroll, Ocon and returnee Ricciardo.
Lights green
As experiments go, I thought that one was pretty good. Now to see what Q2 throws up on the mediums as the green light turns on at the pit exit.
An interesting dimension to the qualifying now is that those who had to run again to ensure Q2 progression won't have burned up all-important tyres needed for the subsequent session. In that sense, it levels the playing field somewhat as those able to get it right first time don't see a benefit later.
Perez gets the ball rolling with a 1m17.675s. The timing screens have noted an impeding incident involving Bottas and Stroll. We'll inform you once we hear more.
Stroll now goes second, 0.186s down on Perez. Together with Ocon, who is third, the trio are the only drivers to set a lap thus far.
As we hear the Bottas-Stroll impeding incident at Turn 13 will be investigated after the session, Verstappen goes top on a 1m17.296 - only for it to be deleted for running too wide at Turn 5.
That means Norris now heads the timesheets from Piastri and Perez. Stroll is another to fall foul of track limits after a wobble at Turn 12 took him beyond the white line.
A 1m17.328s from Norris therefore leads the way. Q1 pacesetter Zhou is sixth as it stands.
I can't honestly remember the last time I saw a McLaren 1-2 on the timing screens midway through qualifying. But it has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it?
Bottas, Ricciardo, Gasly, Stroll and Verstappen are the drivers at risk as it stands of missing Q3, with the Red Bull man the only one yet to set a (legal) time.
Verstappen is alone on the track as he begins his final run. Will the clear track yield a benefit?
Verstappen is two tenths shy of Norris, but his first legal effort is enough for second and should see him comfortably through. That pushes Ocon into the danger zone with less than two minutes to go.
All bar Norris and Verstappen are currently on track trying to secure their passage to Q3. Who will be the five disappointed faces?
Hulkenberg springs up from tenth to fourth. Will that guarantee a Haas in Q3?
Checkered flag
As the checkered flag comes out, Hamilton moves into second.
Bottas springs up to fourth ahead of Piastri and Hulkenberg. That pushes Sainz into the drop zone, and he's unable to rescue himself! The Ferrari man won't make the top 10 shootout.
Sainz, Ocon, Ricciardo, Stroll and Gasly are the quintet that miss out on Q3. Just 0.002s split Sainz and compatriot Alonso in 10th, the Aston driver sneaks in by the skin of his teeth. "Ah, come on," groans Sainz as he's informed of the gap.
So Norris it was who ended Q2 on top ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen, with Bottas an excellent fourth for Alfa Romeo in the lead Ferrari-powered car. Piastri was next up ahead of Leclerc and Hulkenberg, then Perez, Zhou and Alonso.
Ricciardo sounds chipper (shock) despite missing out on Q3 as he's wheeled back into the garage, and signs off his radio message with "thank you" as he pledges to keep learning. Not a bad return at all for the Aussie as he puts one over on Tsunoda at the first time of asking to line up 13th.
For Perez it marks a first Q3 appearance since Miami. That does feel like a lifetime ago. Can he make the most of it as everybody switches to softs?
Red Bull hasn't topped a session all weekend thus far, but now is as good a time as any to do it. After Alfa Romeo headed Q1 and McLaren Q2, whose turn will it be next?
Lights green
We're go for Q3. Time to shine.
Now we're on the soft tyres, will normal service be resumed? Perez kicks off the first flying laps.
Stopwatch
The Mexican's opening gambit is a 1m17.142s, but that only just edged out what Norris managed on mediums in Q2. More time to be found.
And sure enough, Norris does find it. He posts a 1m16.904s to go fastest, with Alonso slotting into second on a 1m17.043s.
But here comes Verstappen, and he sails into the top spot on a 1m16.612s. Hamilton also usurps Norris and manages a 1m16.738s to go second after the first runs.
Perez is shuffled back to fifth ahead of Leclerc, then Bottas, Hulkenberg, Piastri and Q1 hero Zhou tenth.
Everybody back to the pits now for a fresh set of boots before their final runs. Four different cars in the top four as it stands, with 0.431s between them, and just 0.126s splitting the top two. It's close, you know.
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Out of the pits they come then, for one final time today. Can anybody topple Verstappen and end his run of poles stretching back to Monaco in May?
Checkered flag
As the flag comes out, Leclerc moves above Alonso to fourth.
Norris improves and is just 0.082s shy of Verstappen, who doesn't lower his time. What can Hamilton do?
It's pole for Hamilton! He's fastest by 0.003s as the grandstands go beserk.
"Get in there! Let's go boys," yells a pumped up Hamilton over the radio. That's the first pole position for Mercedes this season.
Pole for Hamilton is his 104th in F1 and his first since Jeddah in 2021. It's been a long wait for the seven-time champion!
Remarkably, that means Mercedes remains unbeaten in qualifying at the Hungaroring dating back to 2019. After Russell's Q1 demise, who could have seen this coming?
Verstappen's run of pole positions comes to an end at five, while Norris and Piastri made it a good day for McLaren by locking out the second row.
Another team to enjoy a bumper day at the office was Alfa Romeo. Fifth is comfortably the best grid spot for Zhou, whose previous best was ninth, while Bottas was seventh - just behind Ferrari's sole Q3 representative Leclerc.
By: Autosport Staff
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