Lewis Hamilton Secures Pole Position for Hungarian Grand Prix, Beating Max Verstappen and Lando Norris

F1 rolls into Budapest, Hungary, for the front end of a back-to-back this weekend ahead of its normal summer break. An eight-time race-winner will rejoin the grid, a new qualifying format is being trialed and, as will be the case for the rest of the season, Max Verstappen enters as the overwhelming favorite.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Hungarian Grand Prix:

Hungarian Grand Prix starting grid

1. Lewis Hamilton (44), Mercedes

2. Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT

3. Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes

4. Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes

5. Zhou Guanyu (24), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

6. Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari

7. Valtteri Bottas (77), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

8. Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes

9. Sergio Perez (11), Red Bull-Honda RBPT

10. Nico Hulkenberg, (27), Haas-Ferrari

11. Carlos Sainz (55), Ferrari

12. Esteban Ocon (31), Alpine-Renault

13. Daniel Ricciardo (21), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT

14. Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes

15. Pierre Gasly (10), Alpine-Renault

16. Alexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes

17. Yuki Tsunoda (22), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT

18. George Russell (63), Mercedes

19. Kevin Magnussen (20), Haas-Ferrari

20. Logan Sargeant (2), Williams-Mercedes

Hungarian Grand Prix TV/streaming schedule

All times Eastern

Friday
7:25 – 8:30 a.m.: Free practice 1 (ESPN2, F1 TV Pro)
10:55 a.m. – Noon: Free practice 2 (ESPN2, F1 TV Pro)

Saturday
6:25 – 7:30 a.m.: Free practice 3 (ESPN2, F1 TV Pro)
9:55 – 11 a.m.: Qualifying (ESPN, F1 TV Pro)

Sunday
7:30 – 8:55 a.m.: Pre-race show (ESPN)
8:55 – 11 a.m.: Hungarian Grand Prix (ESPN, F1 TV Pro)

How to watch the Hungarian Grand Prix:

Russell, Leclerc tops in Friday practices

George Russell set the top time in FP1 on the intermediate tire as rain began to fall with a 1:38.795. Seven drivers opted not to set a flying lap in the worsening conditions, including the two-time reigning world champion. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez brought out an early red flag when he dipped a tire in the grass and slid into the barriers.

Conditions were much better later Friday afternoon on the outskirts of Budapest as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc posted a 1:17.686 to top the FP2 timesheets. McLaren’s Lando Norris continued his recent strong form as he posted a lap just. .015s behind Leclerc. Pierre Gasly was third-fastest with a 1:17.918.

Hungarian Grand Prix details

Track: Hungaroring (Budapest, Hungary), 14-turn, 2.72-mile permanent racing facility
Race length: 70 laps for 190 miles
Lap record: 1:16.627 (Lewis Hamilton, 2020)
Tire compounds: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft)
Last year’s winner: Max Verstappen

Daniel Ricciardo returns to F1

A familiar, smiling face returns to the grid this weekend as 2014 world championship third-place finisher and Netflix darling Daniel Ricciardo takes over for underperforming rookie Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri. Ricciardo previously competed for the team in 2012 and 2013 – when it was known as Red Bull Toro Rosso – until he was promoted to parent team Red Bull.

In 2014 he stunned defending four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, out-scoring Vettel by 71 and winning three races to Vettel’s goose-egg. After a tumultuous run alongside Verstappen at Red Bull, Ricciardo had disappointing stints at Renault (2019-2020) and McLaren (2021-2022) and was not offered a full-time ride for 2023.

Qualifying format tweak

F1 and Pirelli are trying out a twist to qualifying sessions this weekend in an effort to improve sustainability. Instead of being provided 13 sets of tires for the weekend, teams will only be allotted 11 and must run the white-striped hard tire in Q1, the yellow-striped medium tire in Q2 and the red-striped soft tire in Q3, assuming there is no rain (more on that later). Previously teams were allowed free choice of any tire in any session. This format was supposed to debut in Imola in May before that race was canceled by catastrophic flooding in northern Italy.

Top drivers and best bets for the Hungarian Grand Prix

It’s Verstappen’s world and the rest of the grid just inhabits it at his benevolent whim. The two-time reigning world champion is well on his way to three in a row and enters the weekend as a massive favorite with a -350 moneyline at BetMGM.

Best odds to win
Max Verstappen -350
Sergio Perez +1100
Lewis Hamilton +1400
Fernando Alonso +1400

Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg wrote earlier in the week on how this week – and each subsequent grand prix – is essentially a race for second place. In addition to betting Verstappen to win pole and the race, Bromberg recommends a wager on Lewis Hamilton to finish on the podium and Esteban Ocon to finish in the top 10. Hamilton has eight poles and eight race wins at the Hungaroring, while Ocon’s lone F1 victory came at the track in 2021.

F1 world drivers’ championship standings

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 255

2. Sergio Perez, Red Bull – 156

3. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 137

4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 121

5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 83

6. George Russell, Mercedes – 82

7. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 74

8. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 44

9. Lando Norris, McLaren – 42

10. Esteban Ocon, Alpine – 31

11. Oscar Piastri, McLaren – 17

12. Pierre Gasly, Alpine – 16

13. Alexander Albon, Williams – 11

14. Nico Hülkenberg, Haas – 9

15. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo – 5

16. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo – 4

17. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri – 2

18. Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 2

19. Logan Sargeant, Williams – 0

20. Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri – 0

Hungarian Grand Prix entry list

Max Verstappen (1), Red Bull-Honda RBPT
Sergio Perez (11), Red Bull-Honda RBPT
Charles Leclerc (16), Ferrari
Carlos Sainz (55), Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton (44), Mercedes
George Russell (63), Mercedes
Pierre Gasly (10), Alpine-Renault
Esteban Ocon (31), Alpine-Renault
Lando Norris (4), McLaren-Mercedes
Oscar Piastri (81), McLaren-Mercedes
Zhou Guanyu (24), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
Valtteri Bottas (77), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
Fernando Alonso (14), Aston Martin-Mercedes
Lance Stroll (18), Aston Martin-Mercedes
Kevin Magnussen (20), Haas-Ferrari
Nico Hulkenberg, (27), Haas-Ferrari
Daniel Ricciardo (3), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
Yuki Tsunoda (22), AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT
Logan Sargeant (2), Williams-Mercedes
Alexander Albon (23), Williams-Mercedes

Weather for the Hungarian Grand Prix

The forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-80s all weekend and thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday. There is no rain expected for Sunday’s race.

How to watch watch F1 for free in 2023:

(Photo: ExpressVPN)

Residents of Luxembourg or Austria are able to watch free F1 live streams of every Grand Prix in 2023 on the free-to-air ServusTV and ORF. If you don’t live in either of those countries, you can still stream like you do with the help of a VPN. 

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