Downbeat Max Verstappen bemoans Red Bull Hungarian Grand Prix performance - Top three verdict

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Britain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying

Downbeat Verstappen bemoans Red Bull performance - Top three verdict

Here's what the top three had to say after a thrilling qualifying session in Hungary

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 20 July 2024 18:27 Updated: 23:44

Lando Norris clinched pole position after a somewhat anticlimactic finish to qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Brit managed to set a rapid time ahead of Max Verstappen, who appeared downbeat after being bested by his rivals at the Hungaroring.

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A crash from Yuki Tsunoda during the closing stages of the session prevented anyone else from setting a faster time than Norris, with Oscar Piastri completing a McLaren front row lock out.

It was a dramatic qualifying session elsewhere, with Sergio Perez once again crashing his Red Bull into the barriers, and making a Q1 exit as pressure mounts on his F1 career.

George Russell was also out in Q1, and will start the grand prix behind Perez in P17.

Here's what the top three had to say in Hungary...

Lando Norris

"Very, very happy.

"Not an easy qualifying, different conditions like that, but always ending up on top is the best part of it all.

"Especially for the team, a one-two is even better, so congrats to the team.

"We have already got confidence, so it's not like we need a lot more of it or we are searching for it. We have come into this weekend off the back of the last few happy and confident we can do a good job and we have a good car to fight for pole, which is what we did today.

"We are in the best position for whatever the conditions throw at us. Two cars at the front row, we can control it from there, so as long as we stay where we are we'll be happy."

Oscar Piastri

“It’s the first one-two in qualifying for McLaren for a very long time, so I’m very happy. Of course when I miss out by two hundredths you think of all the little things you can do a bit better but it’s an amazing result for the team.

“We had a bit of a tricky day on my side yesterday so it was nice to bounce back this morning. This afternoon in qualy wasn’t easy, there was a lot of decisions on the fly and to end up with both cars on the front row was an amazing result.

“The second lap was honestly pretty good. I’ve already seen where I was a little bit slower and you think I could have done this or that a little better. It’s still a good lap and I’m happy with my day’s work.

"It’s a long run down to Turn One so it’s everything to play for. A lot of points are on the table. Of course I want to get into the lead, but we have both cars on the front row and we have a big task ahead of us trying to win this championship as a team.

“We’ll be smart. We’ve got a very quick car that’s been working extremely well this weekend. We want to keep it one-two.”

Max Verstappen

"I tried. The whole weekend we have been a little bit behind and that was also the case in qualifying.

"I tried to make it as close as possible but unfortunately just not enough. A bit difficult to pinpoint why that is, I would have liked a bit more grip but it's not there at the moment.

"P3 is still very close but I just hope that tomorrow the car is good in the race and at least we can follow them and see what we can do there."

On the battle at the front:

"Of course, I love competition but I would love to be on top of the competition and at the moment I feel like we are chasing and have a few more difficult weekends.

"I don't back out of a fight, but just a tricky situation I guess."

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri