Lando Norris secured pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix in a dramatic qualifying session, narrowly beating Lewis Hamilton by 0.012 seconds. Hamilton, who initially appeared to have taken pole, was left disappointed after Norris's late charge. Adding to Hamilton's frustrations, he was later handed a three-place grid penalty by stewards for impeding Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri during qualifying.
This marks Norris's first pole position of the current title defense season. Hamilton, who has won a record eight times at the Hungaroring, expressed frustration with his team's strategy, stating that they went out too early in the final qualifying runs and that grip was lacking on his last lap. Despite the setback, Hamilton believes his car is competitive and has a strong chance to win on Sunday.
The session also saw a notable performance shift for Mercedes, as neither of their cars set the qualifying pace for the first time this season. Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc qualified third, with Championship leader Kimi Antonelli in fourth. George Russell qualified seventh, facing challenges with a water leak that forced him to abandon his car.
Aston Martin showed signs of improvement with the introduction of 16 upgrades. Fernando Alonso managed to qualify 16th, progressing into Q2 and breaking the team's streak of not qualifying in the second session. His teammate Lance Stroll qualified 20th.