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Hungarian Grand Prix: Qualifying Facts and Stats
Max Verstappen became Formula 1’s 100th different pole-sitter as the Dutchman stormed to the top of a competitive Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying session that saw the top three separated by under two-tenths of a second.
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Red Bull scored their fourth pole of the current turbo hybrid era and the teams first at the Hungarian Grand Prix since 2011. But the result will be celebrated even harder by Honda, who secured their first pole position since the Australian Grand Prix in 2006 and only their third P1 start since 1992.
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After crashing out in Germany, Valtteri Bottas has been in resurgent form in Hungary and pipped team mate Lewis Hamilton to the front row. Hamilton's P3 start is just the third time the Briton has been outside the top two in qualifying all season, but Bottas has omens to break tomorrow, having taken victory just once in 14 starts from the front row.
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Despite racing for a top squad for less than one season, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has already scored two pole positions in 2019. Practice hinted that the Monegasque could have challenged for a third but the pace fell away after an early spin. The youngster bounced back to P4 and did out-qualify team mate Sebastian Vettel for the fifth consecutive race weekend as he pipped the former champion by two-hundredths of a second.
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Lando Norris suffered a miserable German Grand Prix weekend, but turned things around with a P7 grid slot to continue his impressive run of form. The rookie has now started eighth or better in five of the last six races, while team mate Carlos Sainz’s P8 means both McLaren’s qualified in the top eight for the second time this season.
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Haas may be suffering to get some consistency out of their package in 2019, but something seems to be working for Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman found himself in Q3 for the second consecutive weekend, despite missing out in the previous five races.
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The upturn in form for some means other teams have taken a hit. Toro Rosso were one of the biggest casualties as both drivers failed to make it into Q3, despite lining up here in sixth and eighth places last year.
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The shock of qualifying was the impressive pace of the Williams, as George Russell put in a stunning lap to miss out on Q2 by just five-hundredths of a second. The result is the first time the Williams has outpaced other cars in qualifying as the team slowly start to make progress up the field.
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Daniel Ricciardo didn't get a clean run on his final lap, having to slow down on the build up to his last run after almost tangling with the Racing Point of Sergio Perez. His compromised lap meant the Australian suffered his first Q1 elimination since the British Grand Prix in 2017.
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The tangle also compromised Perez, who struggled to make his final run count and was eliminated alongside team mate Lance Stroll. The squad have now suffered four double Q1 exits in 2019.
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