Photo Credit:AP
Lewis Hamilton broke Max Verstappen's pole position streak at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, beating the Dutchman by just three thousandths of a second at the Hungaroring.
The Mercedes has never been close to the top this season, but Hamilton makes history with its ninth pole position in Budapest and extends the all-time pole record to 104.
It's been 33 races since Hamilton was last on pole - Saudi Arabia 2021 - when he was fighting for the championship with Verstappen in Jeddah, but the Englishman returns to front of the grid in style.
"It's been a crazy year and a half. I have lost my voice from shouting so much in the car," Hamilton said after clinching pole in Budapest.
"We have been pushing so hard to finally get a pole and it just feels like the first time. I didn't expect to be fighting for pole so when I went into that final run I gave it everything.
"It has been massively challenging for everyone in the team. We have been focusing so much on trying to improve.
"We have been losing so much time in Turns 4 and 11 compared to the others, so I just sent it. It has been so tough and it is going to continue to be tough after this, but this just shows we can do it."
Magnificent McLaren
Lando Norris was less than a tenth of a second behind Hamilton and will start third, confirming what we saw on Friday and Saturday morning, that McLaren is here to stay at the front, even though it's not a very favourable circuit for them.
At Spa or Monza they might even be the car to beat, without any doubt, and they have not yet said the last word this weekend. Piastri, a rookie, is fourth on the second row.
Alonso starts eighth
Fernando Alonso was fourth after the first runs, but a poor last sector in the second run saw him drop to eighth, behind Zhou, Leclerc, and Bottas.
The two Alfa Romeos seem to be the biggest beneficiaries of Pirelli's new tyre compounds along with McLaren, while Red Bull and Aston Martin, as well as Ferrari, are the biggest losers.
This paradigm shift seems to be confirmed by the introduction of mid-season supply and rule changes, something that doesn't happen in any other sport...
Since Canada, where only two races have been run and after qualifying, the turnaround is evident.
In Montreal, Hamilton called for changes to improve the competitiveness of the grid and four weeks later he is on pole. Did he know something, is it pure coincidence?
F1 starts a new championship, though Verstappen's lead is big, but behind him Mercedes and McLaren are clearly ahead of Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Hungarian GP 2023 Qualifying Results
1º L. Hamilton Mercedes 1'16"609
2º M. Verstappen Red Bull 1'16"612 +00"003
3º L. Norris McLaren 1'16"694 +00"085
4º O. Piastri McLaren 1'16"905 +00"296
5º G. Zhou Alfa Romeo 1'16"971 +00"362
6º C. Leclerc Ferrari 1'16"992 +00"383
7º V. Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'17"034 +00"425
8º Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1'17"035 +00"426
