
Oscar Piastri edges out Lando Norris in final practice in Hungary
Norris headed both sessions at the Hungaroring on Friday but played second fiddle to his championship rival and McLaren team-mate in the concluding running before qualifying.
McLaren have been dominant all weekend at the last round before the summer break with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third, albeit four tenths back.
Lewis Hamilton was next up, 0.768 seconds off Piastri's pace, with Kimi Antonelli fifth for Mercedes and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso sixth.
George Russell took eighth place but Max Verstappen's troubled weekend continued after he finished way down in 12th.
The four-time world champion took aim at the handling of his Red Bull as he ended the session 1.2 sec slower than Piastri. Yuki Tsunoda was 19th of 20 in the other Red Bull.
Qualifying for the 14th round of 24 takes place at 16:00 local time (15:00 BST). Piastri holds a 16-point lead over team-mate Norris in the world championship.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Metro
22 minutes ago
- Metro
Lewis Hamilton shockingly suggests Ferrari should sack him in damning admission
Sir Lewis Hamilton called himself 'useless' and shockingly suggested Ferrari need to replace him after Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. The seven-time champion endured another poor Saturday, qualifying 13th for race at the Hungaroring, the final grand prix before Formula 1's summer break. To rub salt into the wound, Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc claimed a surprise pole position ahead of McLaren duo and championship contenders Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Hamilton had a tough start to the last grand prix in Belgium but recovered to score good points and could well do the same on Sunday at a track where he has won a record eight times. But after learning his qualifying result, the 40-year-old was completely down trodden, muttering: 'Every time, every time,' on the team radio. Speaking to Sky Sports, he clarified he was referring to himself before giving a damning assessment of his performances: 'It's me every time. 'I'm useless, absolutely useless. The team have no problem. You've seen the car's on pole. 'So we probably need to change driver.' More Trending He latter added to F1 TV: 'I'm just useless. It clearly is [me]. 'I drove terribly. It is what it is.' More to follow… For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Max Verstappen learns punishment after throwing towel out of F1 car MORE: Who is Felipe Drugovich? Fernando Alonso's Hungarian Grand Prix replacement MORE: Lewis Hamilton admits he's cancelling work just to play new video game


The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
Charles Leclerc stuns McLaren with shock pole position for Ferrari in Hungary
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took a surprise pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix – as team-mate Lewis Hamilton could manage only 12th. Championship leader Oscar Piastri and title rival Lando Norris had been expected to fight for pole but the McLaren men were left to settle for second and third respectively. Leclerc saw off Piastri by just 0.026 seconds with Norris only 0.015 sec behind the Australian. George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes. McLaren had dominated all weekend at the Hungaroring with Norris fastest in both sessions on Friday, and Piastri – who leads his team-mate by 16 points in the world championship – quickest in the concluding running prior to qualifying. But Leclerc pulled a mighty lap out of the bag to secure both his and Ferrari's first pole of the season. The Monegasque said: 'Today, I don't understand anything in Formula One. Honestly, the whole qualifying was extremely difficult. When I say extremely difficult, it's not exaggerating. 'It was difficult for us to get to Q2, it was difficult for us to get to Q3. In Q3, the conditions changed a little bit. Everything became a lot trickier, and I knew I just had to do a clean lap to target third. 'At the end of the day, it's pole position. I definitely did not expect that. Honestly, I have no words. It's probably one of the best pole positions I've ever had. It's the most unexpected, for sure.' In the other scarlet car, Hamilton has a record eight wins and nine pole positions in Hungary. However, a week after he qualified only 16th at Spa-Francorchamps, he suffered another setback when he was knocked out of Q2. Hamilton has now been outqualified by Leclerc at 10 of the 14 rounds so far. TOP-10 - HUNGARY GP QUALIFYING 'Every time, every time,' said the British driver after he was informed of his early exit. Hamilton emerged from his cockpit and walked towards the Ferrari motorhome holding his gloves in front of his visor to obstruct the full glare of the waiting TV cameras. Hamilton's lowly grid slot looks set to extend his run without a podium finish to 14 races. Until this season he had never gone more than 10 races into a campaign without finishing in the top three. Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes, the teenager Kimi Antonelli, has only scored once in his last seven appearances and he too failed to make it out of Q2, qualifying 15th. Aston Martin have been woefully out of sorts this year and are eighth in the constructors' standings. Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to make it out of Q1 at the previous round. However, Alonso – who turned 44 earlier this week – and Stroll progressed to the final phase on Saturday, and will start fifth and sixth respectively. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen qualified eighth for Red Bull. Alex Albon has enjoyed a strong season – he finished sixth last weekend – but he will line up from the back of the pack here after qualifying 20th and last. Yuki Tsunoda was also eliminated in Q1 for the fifth time this season, leaving him 16th on the grid.


The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lewis Hamilton: I'm absolutely useless and Ferrari need a new driver
Lewis Hamilton said he is 'absolutely useless' and claimed Ferrari need to replace him after he qualified 12th for the Hungarian Grand Prix – as team-mate Charles Leclerc took pole position. Outside of a sprint win at the second round in China, Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari has failed to live up to its blockbuster billing and his debut season in red took another sorry twist when he was knocked out of Q2 at the Hungaroring. The 40-year-old has a record eight wins and nine pole positions here. However, a week after he qualified only 16th at Spa-Francorchamps, he suffered another setback. Hamilton has now been out-qualified by Leclerc at 10 of the 14 rounds so far and trails his team-mate by 30 points in the standings. And, in an astonishing admission in the moments after qualifying, Hamilton told Sky Sports: 'It's me every time. 'I'm useless, absolutely useless. The team have no problem. You've seen the car's on pole. So we probably need to change driver.' After he failed to progress to Q3, Hamilton emerged from his cockpit and walked towards the Ferrari motorhome holding his gloves in front of his visor to obstruct the full glare of the waiting TV cameras. Hamilton's lowly grid slot looks set to extend his run without a podium finish to 14 races. Until this season he had never gone more than 10 rounds into a campaign without finishing in the top three. Championship leader Oscar Piastri and title rival Lando Norris had been expected to fight for pole, but the McLaren men were left to settle for second and third respectively. Leclerc saw off Piastri by just 0.026 seconds, with Norris only 0.015secs behind the Australian. George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes. Leclerc said: 'Today I don't understand anything in Formula One. Honestly, the whole qualifying was extremely difficult. When I say extremely difficult, it's not exaggerating. 'It was difficult for us to get to Q2, it was difficult for us to get to Q3. In Q3, the conditions changed a little bit. Everything became a lot trickier and I knew I just had to do a clean lap to target third. 'At the end of the day, it's pole position. I definitely did not expect that. Honestly, I have no words. It's probably one of the best pole positions I've ever had. It's the most unexpected, for sure.'