Hamilton takes his 90th pole position, Stroll records a career-best qualifying position and Williams reach Q2 with both cars for the first time in almost two years. Here are all the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix!
HAMILTON ON POLE
Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix with a lap time which was 1.125 seconds faster than last year’s pole time at the Hungaroring. It marked the 90th pole position of his career and his seventh pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix. This is only the sixth time that a driver has taken pole seven times at a single Grand Prix. Hamilton equals Michael Schumacher for most pole positions at the circuit, and surpasses the German’s tally of front row starts.
This is the first time that Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position at consecutive races since he took three poles in a row between the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix and the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton provided Mercedes with their sixth pole position at the Hungaroring and with Valtteri Bottas qualifying in second, it’s their fourth front row lockout in Hungary. It’s the first time that the team have locked out the front row since the 2019 British Grand Prix, despite qualifying in first and second at the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix and the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton took pole position by 0.107 seconds. It’s the fourth time in Formula 1 history that pole has been decided by 0.107 seconds. It also happened at the 1983 German Grand Prix, the 1999 Hungarian Grand Prix and the 2016 German Grand Prix.
THE TOP TEN
For the first time in the Silverstone-based team’s history, Racing Point saw both drivers reach Q3 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. That is in stark contrast to in 2019, when both drivers were eliminated in Q1. For Sergio Perez, it is his first Q3 appearance at the Hungaroring since 2013, and for Lance Stroll it is his first ever Q3 appearance at this track.
Lance Stroll recorded a career-best qualifying result with third place, marking only the second time that the Canadian has qualified in the top seven in his F1 career. While it’s his best qualifying position, it will not translate into his best grid slot. After qualifying fourth at the 2017 Italian Grand Prix, Stroll started on the front row as a result of grid penalties for other drivers.
For the fourth time in his career, Sergio Perez qualified in the top four. He also qualified in the top four at the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 2016 European Grand Prix and the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix. The 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix will be the sixth time that he has started in the top four on the grid. Though he was demoted five grid positions at the 2016 European Grand Prix, he moved up on the grid at both the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix and the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix. The Mexican has never started higher than fourth.
Valtteri Bottas – who lines up second on the grid – recorded the fastest lap time in Free Practice 3, marking the first time that he has been fastest in a session at this track.
After qualifying in the top ten, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly have all maintained their 100% Q3 appearance record at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Ralf Schumacher and Brendon Hartley are the only other drivers who never failed to reach Q3 at this circuit.
For the first time in 2020, both Ferrari drivers qualified in the top ten. After qualifying in fifth place, Sebastian Vettel maintains his record of having qualified in the top five at the Hungarian Grand Prix in every season since 2009.
OUT IN Q2
For the first time since the 2018 Italian Grand Prix, both Williams drivers made it through to Q2. The 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix also marks the first time since the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix that a Williams driver has appeared in Q2 at two consecutive races. George Russell qualified in twelfth place, just as he did last week. It marked Williams’ best qualifying result at the Hungarian Grand Prix since Valtteri Bottas qualified tenth for the team in 2016.
Alex Albon failed to reach Q3 for the first time since the 2019 Russian Grand Prix. His Q2 exit marked only the third time in the last twelve years that a Red Bull driver has failed to reach Q3 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Albon qualified in thirteenth place – the team’s worst qualifying result at the Hungaroring since David Coulthard also qualified thirteenth in 2008.
OUT IN Q1
With Antonio Giovinazzi qualifying in nineteenth and Kimi Raikkonen qualifying in twentieth, this is the first time that both of Alfa Romeo (formerly Sauber)’s drivers have been eliminated in Q1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix since Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica were both out in Q1 in 2009.
With last on the grid, Kimi Raikkonen equalled his worst ever qualifying result. He has qualified in twentieth position three times previously – at the 2003 Spanish Grand Prix, the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix and the 2014 British Grand Prix. In the first two instances, Raikkonen failed to set a competitive time, while at Silverstone in 2014, both Ferrari drivers were caught out by the changing weather conditions. This is the first time in his career that Raikkonen has qualified last on the grid on pure pace alone. He also failed to set a lap time in qualifying three times, and was disqualified at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Haas recorded their first double Q1 elimination from their five visits to the Hungarian Grand Prix. It’s the first time that both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen have been out in Q1 since the 2019 Mexico Grand Prix.
Qualifying in seventeenth place, Daniil Kvyat became the first AlphaTauri (Toro Rosso) driver to be eliminated in Q1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix since Daniel Ricciardo, who qualified eighteenth in 2012. In six appearances at the Hungaroring, Kvyat is yet to out-qualify a team-mate at the circuit.
Sergio Perez was the fastest driver in Q1, marking the first time he has been quickest in any session at the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was also the first time that Racing Point have been fastest in any practice, qualifying or race session in Hungary in the Silverstone team’s 30-year history.
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