MADRID, 30 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The British driver George Russell (Mercedes) has achieved this Saturday the first pole of his team this season and the first of his career and will start first on the grid of this Sunday’s race of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the thirteenth round of the calendar, after a qualifying session in which the water gave a truce, with the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc completing the podium and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) was sixth.
With a time of 1:17.377, the British was the fastest in Q3 thanks to a stratospheric lap in a Grand Prix in which Mercedes was not expected. Sainz will start second and join Russell on the front row, after being just 44 thousandths slower than the Mercedes driver. Leclerc completes the top three positions on the grid, with a time of 1:17.567.
It was not the best day for Red Bull, first with the unexpected elimination of Sergio Pérez in Q2 -he will start eleventh- and then with Verstappen unable to complete a competitive lap in Q3 due to reliability problems in his car in the second and definitive attempt, while in the first stake he went too far. Thus, the Dutchman could only be tenth in qualifying (1:18.823), almost a second and a half behind the ‘poleman’.
It seemed that this would not be, once again, the weekend for Mercedes, which has improved in recent Grand Prix. But they had the speed and pace necessary to complete an unexpected pole, thanks to an almost perfect lap, taking advantage of all the limits of the track and with more rubber and ‘grip’ on the track. The cross went to his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who finished seventh almost eight tenths off pole.
Frustration, although with some satisfaction, must be the feeling for Carlos Sainz, who has touched what would have been the second pole of his career, with a very ambitious first attempt (1:17.421), only surpassed by the spectacular lap of the British . Thus, Ferrari will be the main threat for Russell, with Leclerc achieving third place in qualifying, two tenths off the best time (1:17.567).
The Monegasque will start this Sunday ahead of Lando Norris (McLaren), who was fourth (1:17.769), the best of the ‘rest’, with his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, achieving ninth place on the grid for this Sunday.
On the other hand, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso had to settle for sixth place at the start of the race, after even setting the second fastest time in Q2, when he completed his best qualifying lap. However, in Q3 he was not up to the task and was overtaken by his teammate, Esteban Ocon, although he was able to finish ahead of Hamilton.
‘Mad Max’ finished the session tenth and ‘Checo’ Pérez could only be eleventh. This bad day of qualifying unhinged and frustrated the Dutchman, forced to invent in the race so as not to have to spend one of his ‘lives’ and reduce as much as possible the good Sunday that is coming for Ferrari.
Despite the fact that the sky was always cloudy during qualifying, it leaves the war wide open at the back of the grid, with the last ten drivers within a second. Thus, the rain gave some respite after free practice 3 passed by a lot of water, a session that was surprisingly led by Nicholas Latifi’s Williams.
