Charles Leclerc secures Ferrari's first pole position of season at Hungarian GP
McLaren's Lando Norris, Piastri's closest title rival, qualified third with George Russell lining up fourth for Mercedes.
The pole was Ferrari's first in a Grand Prix in 14 rounds this season.
Leclerc punched the air in delight as he climbed out of the car after beating Piastri by 0.026 seconds and the other McLaren of Norris by .041s.
Leclerc had consistently been the best of the rest behind the McLarens in practice but remained well off Piastri and Norris' pace. That changed in qualifying, with the help of gloomy, windy conditions that worked against the McLarens.
Still, pole came as a shock. 'What?' Leclerc exclaimed over the radio when he was told he had qualified first.
The Monegasque driver later 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.'
It was in stark contrast to yet another frustrating day for Lewis Hamilton in the other Ferrari.
Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix a record eight times but qualified 12th as the seven-time champion's troubles in his first season with Ferrari continued.
'Every time, every time,' Hamilton told the team over the radio after he qualified outside the top 10 for the second straight race.
Defending champion Max Verstappen was only eighth after struggling with the balance of his Red Bull, and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda was 16th. That piles more pressure on the Japanese driver, who hasn't scored a point in six races.
Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes, 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.
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.
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