The Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session on July 20, 2024, saw McLaren achieve a historic front-row lockout, with Lando Norris securing pole position and Oscar Piastri taking second place. Norris clinched his third career pole with a blistering time of 1:15.227, just 0.022 seconds ahead of his teammate. This marks McLaren’s first front-row lockout since Lewis Hamilton’s performance in 2012.Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the current championship leader, qualified third, expressing frustration with his team’s performance. Verstappen stated that Red Bull needs to do more work on their car, admitting they’ve been ‘a little behind’ throughout the weekend. He cautioned against ‘false hopes’ of catching McLaren during the race, emphasizing the need for realism.The qualifying session was marked by challenging weather conditions and multiple red flags. Sergio Perez of Red Bull crashed out in Q1, relegating him to 16th place on the grid. This incident drew sharp criticism from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who stated he has ‘lost patience’ with Perez, saying ‘we can’t keep walking with one foot’.Other notable performances include Carlos Sainz of Ferrari qualifying fourth, followed by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari. The Hungarian Grand Prix, marking the start of the second half of the Formula 1 season, is set to take place on Sunday, July 21st.
Key points
- McLaren secured a historic front-row lockout with Lando Norris on pole and Oscar Piastri second.
- Max Verstappen qualified third, expressing frustration with Red Bull’s performance.
- Sergio Perez crashed out in Q1, starting 16th, leading to criticism from team principal Christian Horner.
- The qualifying session was marked by challenging weather conditions and multiple red flags.
