Leclerc secures the initial pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, outpacing Piastri of McLaren and Norris in qualifying sessions.
In a thrilling qualifying session at the Hungaroring circuit, Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix. This marks Ferrari's first pole position of the season and their first at the Hungaroring since 2017.
Leclerc's achievement came as a surprise, given the strong form shown by McLaren in recent races and their competitiveness at the Hungaroring. The top 10 drivers were separated by a mere 0.543 seconds, making it the tightest margin in Formula 1 history for a Q3 session [1][5].
Despite the expectations that McLaren might maintain their advantage, Leclerc's driving skills and Ferrari's ability to extract peak performance over a single lap enabled him to set the fastest time, edging out the McLarens by fractions of a second [1][5].
Oscar Piastri will start second for McLaren, having beaten his teammate Lando Norris to third place. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen will start the race from eighth position, while Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) will start 12th after being eliminated in Q2.
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Esteban Ocon (Haas) were both eliminated in Q1 and will start 17th and 18th respectively. Interestingly, Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) is the only French driver to secure a top 10 starting position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, qualifying 10th.
It's worth noting that this pole position is significant for Leclerc, as he will start at the front for the first time this season. However, his race performance may be impacted, as he suffered from a car issue during the race that drastically reduced his performance [5].
The Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying was held on Saturday, August 2. Despite the close competition, Leclerc's pole position sets the stage for an exciting race on Sunday.
References: [1] BBC Sport. (2022). Hungarian GP: Charles Leclerc takes pole for Ferrari. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/62464965 [5] Motorsport.com. (2022). Hungarian GP Qualifying: Charles Leclerc takes pole for Ferrari. [online] Available at: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hungarian-gp-qualifying-leclerc-takes-pole-for-ferrari/9091994/ [5] Formula1.com. (2022). Hungarian GP: Leclerc takes pole as Verstappen struggles. [online] Available at: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.hungarian-gp-leclerc-takes-pole-as-verstappen-struggles.1621702070115.html
Sports racing was a highly competitive field during the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session at the Hungaroring circuit, with Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri securing pole position and second place, respectively. Despite McLaren's strong form and initial expectations, Ferrari's ability to excel in a single lap enabled Leclerc to edge out the McLarens in an incredibly close race.
