McLaren's Lando Norris took his first grand prix pole position of the season by beating Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton by 0.012 seconds with the final lap of the session. Norris’ effort came in a chaotic finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix and followed his one pole in the sprint in Miami.
Hamilton had been fastest on the first runs by just over 0.1 seconds from Norris, but neither the seven-time champion nor team-mate Charles Leclerc could improve on their final attempts. Norris then delivered pole in the upgraded McLaren after a session-ending disturbance caused by a spin at the final corner by Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Verstappen's error affected Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who were forced to slow and ended up fourth and seventh. But Verstappen had got going again before Norris came around as the last driver on track to clinch pole.
Hamilton was a second slower on his second run than on his first, and he also faces a potential investigation for impeding McLaren's Oscar Piastri at Turn One after he finished his final lap.
Verstappen managed to take sixth, ahead of Russell and the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad and Audi's Nico Hulkenberg.
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Fernando Alonso made a major breakthrough for Aston Martin on the weekend they debuted their virtually new car by breaking out of the first session for the first time this season. Alonso will start 16th, 2.8 seconds off pole, but that was two seconds faster in relative pace than they had managed for some time.
How did Alonso view Aston Martin's progress?
Alonso said he felt the team had finally understood the weaknesses of the car, describing the result as the first step in the right direction. The veteran Spaniard, who is 45 next week, said the mood had improved at the factory after a run of disappointing upgrades.
“I feel relieved a little bit, feeling that the team understood the weaknesses of the car and this is the first step in the right direction.
“We brought a few updates to this car early in the season, and it didn't work much. And we come from two years of disappointments of upgrades. So definitely there is a change in optimism in the factory and I feel optimistic.”
What does Alonso think about his future?
Alonso faces a decision this summer over whether to continue his career after this season. He said he had no doubts that managing technical partner Adrian Newey would help lead the team to success in the future, but he was not sure whether it would happen soon enough for him.
“No one should doubt Adrian Newey or the potential we have in Silverstone. It is a matter of time before we have the best chassis and it is a matter of time before Honda have the best engine in F1. It is a question of when.”
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