After Daniel Ricciardo topped FP1 and FP2, Red Bull Racing were looking competitive in Hungary. Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari set the pace in final practice before qualifying, suggesting that the Italian team were going to be the ones to beat before the all important session.
Sebastian Vettel secures pole position in Hungary, heading up a Ferrari 1-2
Qualifying 1
In the first session of qualifying, Sebastian Vettel continued where he left off in in practice three, topping Q1 for Ferrari. Five drivers were knocked out of this session, leaving 15 drivers to compete in Q2. Kevin Magnussen narrowly missed out on getting through to the second part of qualifying, setting the same lap time as Sergio Perez who was 15th fastest. As Perez set his time before Magnussen however, it is he who gets through. Lance Stroll was also knocked out of qualifying for Williams, and will line up in 17th on the grid. Pascal Wehrlein was next up for Sauber in 18th. Paul di Resta impressively qualified in 19th after being told at the end of practice three that he would replace Felipe Massa for the rest of the weekend. Di Resta was only 0.7 seconds slower that Stroll, despite having no practice prior to the session or in a 2017 car. Marcus Ericsson then rounded out the session in 20th and last place on the grid.
Qualifying 2
In the second part of qualifying, Lewis Hamilton set the pace for the first time this weekend, breaking the lap record in the process. Another five drivers were knocked out of qualifying in Q2, leaving only ten drivers in qualifying to progress to Q3. Jolyon Palmer narrowly missed out on his second Q3 appearance of 2017 by qualifying in 11th for Renault. Next up was Esteban Ocon for Force India, who will start in 12th place. Daniil Kvyat was knocked out of the session for Toro Rosso, leaving him in 13th place. It was a bitterly disappointing session for Sergio Perez who only managed to qualify in 14th place, ending his current run of Q3 appearances. Romain Grosjean ended the session as the slowest driver down in 15th and last place, meaning that he will start alongside his team mate on the grid.
Qualifying 3
In the final part of qualifying, the ten remaining drivers were handed 12 minutes to set the fastest time that they could. After the first set of runs, Sebastian Vettel set the pace while Hamilton struggled out on track with the balance of his Mercedes. This meant that the Brit had to abandon his first lap of the session, leaving him with only one attempt to snatch pole from Vettel. This was something that he was not able to do however, and he couldn’t match the pace of the Ferrari.
This left Vettel on pole while Kimi Raikkonen improved on his best lap time to go second fastest, securing a front row lockout for Ferrari. Valtteri Bottas then headed up an all silver second row for Mercedes while Lewis Hamilton was only fourth fastest. Max Versatppen led Daniel Ricciardo in fifth while the Australian managed sixth. It was then Nico Hulkenberg who was seventh fastest while McLaren secured an 8-9 qualifying result with Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne. Carlos Sainz Jr rounded out the session in tenth.
Going into the race, Ferrari is looking strong while the Mercedes drivers seem to be on the back foot in terms of pace. With the Hungarian Grand Prix being the last race before the summer break, Lewis Hamilton will be looking to take the lead of the Drivers’ Championship away from Vettel although the German driver will have other ideas in the race.
Qualifying results for the Hungarian Grand Prix:
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:16.276
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:16.444
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:16.530
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:16.707
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1:16.797
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 1:16.818
- Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 1:17.468 (+5 positions)
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:17.549
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1:17.894
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1:18.912
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:18.415 (Q2)
- Esteban Ocon, Force India, 1:18.495 (Q2)
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:18.538 (Q2)
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:18.639 (Q2)
- Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, 1:18.771 (Q2)
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1, 1:19.095 (Q1)
- Lance Stroll, Williams, 1:19.102 (Q1)
- Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber, 1:19.839 (Q1)
- Paul di Resta, Williams, 1:19.868 (Q1)
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:19.972 (Q1)
Main Photo
