Advantage McLaren As Lando Norris Takes Stunning Pole in Budapest

Norris, who missed out on pole at Silverstone, set a time of 1:15.227, putting him on provisional pole until the session was stopped with over two minutes left on the clock after Yuki Tsunoda suffered a heavy accident at Turn 5.

Although the session was restarted, no one from the top six could improve on their times, earning Norris his second pole of 2024. Oscar Piastri made the front-row an all-McLaren affair with second and was less than a tenth behind his teammate.

Max Verstappen had briefly topped the times in Q3 but was relegated to third after Piastri had vaulted ahead of him on his second run, with Carlos Sainz the best of the Ferraris with fourth.

British GP winner Lewis Hamilton survived a near Q2 exit to qualify fifth, while his future Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc overcame a crash in FP2 to finish the session sixth fastest.

Big-name exits in Q1

Rain showers had arrived before qualifying, and although they relented before the session began, the track was still damp in some places when Q1 began. Logan Sargeant hit the wall after locking up at Turn 1 during the early stages of the session, but the American was able to return to the pits for repairs.

But Sergio Perez once again grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons as he put his future at Red Bull in further doubt by clipping the kerb at Turn 8, spinning into the barrier, and bringing the red flag out.

When the session finally resumed, George Russell, the polesitter at the Canadian and British GP, became the next big-name casualty after his first run, which was not good enough to secure a spot in Q2.

A lack of fuel prevented him from setting a second lap just as the track began to quicken up. Russell will line up 17th for Sunday's race, his worst qualifying result since the 2023 Hungarian GP when he only managed 18th.

After watching the rest of the session from the sidelines, Perez was relegated to 16th for Sunday's race, securing his fourth Q1 exit in six races.

Ricciardo and Tsunoda give Horner plenty to think about

Behind the top six, Aston Martin and RB managed to get both cars into the final part of qualifying, with Fernando Alonso setting the seventh-fastest time of the session ahead of teammate Lance Stroll.

Daniel Ricciardo, who hasn't made Q3 since June's Canadian GP, used a clear track to his advantage to qualify ninth, while Tsunoda, who was ahead of his teammate before his shunt, rounded off the top 10.

Haas had a tricky Saturday. Nico Hulkenberg could only manage 11th, ending a run of Q3 appearances, while his teammate, the outgoing Kevin Magnussen, was only 15th.

Alpine's decision to keep Pierre Gasly in the garage during Q1 proved catastrophic as faster cars dropped him to 20th and last for the second consecutive race. His teammate Esteban Ocon also exited in Q1 and will line up alongside his compatriot on Sunday in 19th.

Qualifying results