Hamilton secures his first pole position since 2021, Alfa Romeo reach Q3 with both cars for the first time since the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix and Sainz’s streak of 33 consecutive top ten qualifications comes to an end. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix!
HAMILTON ON POLE FOR THE 2023 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
For the first time in almost two years, Lewis Hamilton secured pole position at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton’s pole is his first since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the 104th pole position of his career.
Hamilton ended a 33-race wait for pole position – the longest such wait in his Formula 1 career. He is the first driver to have taken pole position in 16 different seasons.
Hamilton became the first driver in Formula 1 history to record nine pole positions at a single venue.
Securing pole by just 0.003 seconds, Hamilton’s pole margin at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix is the equal-third smallest of the millennium. The pole margin was also 0.003 seconds at the 2000 British Grand Prix. The only smaller pole margins this millennium were both 0.002 seconds, at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix and the 2010 German Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s pole position marks the first pole position for Mercedes since George Russell secured pole at the Hungarian Grand Prix last year. Russell started from the front of the grid for the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, but that was as a result of winning the Sprint.
Mercedes become only the second team, after Ferrari, to have taken pole position in 12 consecutive Formula 1 seasons. Ferrari’s record streak lasted 15 consecutive seasons, between 1994 and 2008.
Mercedes became the first team to secure nine pole positions at the Hungaroring, moving clear of Ferrari and McLaren in the all-time list.
Having taken every pole at the Hungarian Grand Prix since 2020, this is only the second time that a team has secured pole positions in four consecutive seasons at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Mercedes are the only team to achieve the feat, having also taken four consecutive Hungaroring poles between 2013 and 2016.
Pole position for Hamilton makes this the 20th consecutive season in which a British driver has taken pole. It’s a new record for the most consecutive years in which a nation has secured a pole position, breaking Britain’s own long-standing record of 19 consecutive years with a pole position between 1955 and 1973.
Hamilton’s pole is the 12th for a British driver at the Hungarian Grand Prix. That sees Britain equal Germany as the nation with the most pole positions at the Hungaroring.
IN THE TOP TEN
Max Verstappen qualified on the front row, making the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix the first time he and Lewis Hamilton start on the front row together since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s front row qualification at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix is only the second time since 2015 that a Red Bull driver has qualified on the front row in Hungary. The other time was Verstappen’s maiden pole position in 2019.
This is the first time since 2012 that both McLaren drivers qualified in the top four at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris’ third place in qualifying for the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix makes this the first time in his Formula 1 career that he has qualified in the top four at three consecutive races.
Both Max Verstappen and Lando Norris maintained their 100% Q3 appearance record at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri joins the duo in the club of drivers who’ve reached Q3 on every appearance in Hungary. Brendon Hartley and Ralf Schumacher are the only other drivers in the group.
With fourth place, Oscar Piastri qualified in the top four for a second consecutive race having never qualified in the top eight at any race before then.
Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu qualified in the top ten, making the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix the first time since the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix that both Alfa Romeo drivers have reached Q3.
This was the first time since 2007, when the team was in its BMW Sauber guise, that both of the former Sauber team’s drivers have qualified in the top seven at the Hungarian Grand Prix. That was also the team’s first double Q3 appearance at the event since then.
Zhou recorded the best qualifying result of his career to date with fifth place. He had never previously qualified in the top eight. This was Zhou’s third Q3 appearance in total and his first since the 2022 British Grand Prix.
With seventh place, Bottas recorded his best qualifying result since qualifying sixth at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix. This was Bottas’ first Q3 appearance since the 2023 Miami Grand Prix.
With Charles Leclerc qualifying sixth and Carlos Sainz failing to reach Q3, this is the second time in the last three seasons that neither Ferrari driver has qualified in the top five at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Along with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso set a new record for the most top ten qualifications at the Hungarian Grand Prix. This was each driver’s 16th appearance in the top ten in qualifying at the Hungaroring.
Alonso is now the only driver to reach Q3 at every race in 2023. He reached Q3 at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix by just 0.002 seconds.
Sergio Perez ended a five-race streak of failing to reach Q3 and qualified in ninth place for the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. It was his fifth Q3 appearance of the season and only the fifth time in 13 appearances at the Hungaroring that Perez has qualified in the top ten.
Qualifying tenth at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, Nico Hulkenberg secured the first top ten qualification for Haas at the Hungarian Grand Prix since 2019. This was the first time since 2017 that Hulkenberg has reached Q3 at the Hungaroring.
OUT IN Q2
Qualifying 11th, Carlos Sainz missed out on a spot in Q3 for the first time in 2023. Sainz’s Q2 exit ended a 33-race streak of Q3 appearances, having last failed to qualify in the top ten at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso now holds the longest active Q3 streak on the grid, having reached Q3 at all of the last 11 races.
With both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly out in Q2, neither Alpine driver reached Q3 for the first time since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It’s the first time neither of the team’s drivers have qualified in the top ten in Hungary since 2020.
On his return to Formula 1, Daniel Ricciardo became the first AlphaTauri driver to reach Q2 since the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. He out-qualified a team-mate for the first time since the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll was eliminated in Q2 at the Hungarian Grand Prix for a third consecutive season.
OUT IN Q1
For the first time as a Mercedes driver, George Russell recorded a Q1 elimination at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. This was the first time Russell qualified as low as 18th since the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Russell became the first Mercedes driver to record a Q1 exit since Lewis Hamilton at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This was Russell’s first Q1 elimination since his last race at Williams, the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Recording the team’s first Q1 exit of the season, George Russell became the first Mercedes driver to be eliminated in Q1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix since Lewis Hamilton in 2014.
Yuki Tsunoda has not made it out of Q1 on any of his three visits to the Hungarian Grand Prix. With 17th place, Tsunoda equalled his worst qualifying result of the season. He also qualified 17th at the Miami and British Grands Prix.
This was the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix that Tsunoda was out-qualified by his team-mate.
Kevin Magnussen recorded the 62nd Q1 exit of his Formula 1 career, overtaking Lance Stroll for second on the list of most Q1 exits in F1.
Recording his fourth Q1 exit at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Magnussen equalled Marcus Ericsson as the driver who has recorded the most Q1 eliminations at the Hungaroring.
Magnussen qualified on the back row for a third consecutive race.
Williams recorded their third double Q1 exit of the 2023 season – their first since the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. This is the third consecutive season in which Williams have recorded a double Q1 exit at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
With both Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant out in Q1, Williams became the first constructor to record 70 double Q1 exits since the knockout qualifying system was introduced in 2006.
Albon’s 16th place in qualifying brought an end to a streak of three consecutive Q3 appearances.
Sargeant set the slowest qualifying lap time for the fourth time in his career.