Hungary GP Qualifying- Charles Leclerc Dances to Pole as McLarens Fail to Catch Him in Time!

Read ahead to know how the Qualifying at Hungary played out today

What. A. Performance. #F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/Q9ZSwwGxSN
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2025

Charles Leclerc was extremely under-confident about the qualifying session today. The Ferrari driver considers Hungary his worst track so far. Fortunately, it has become his best track of the season in 2025. All weekend, McLaren were claiming the top spots but it was Leclerc who had the last laugh. The Hungary GP qualifying has left everyone speechless today.

Earlier on, we had predicted that Charles Leclerc is the best long shot for winning pole according to today’s odds. The entire session was a roller coaster for the viewers. Hungary is known for slow speeds and less overtakes. Today’s qualifying session proved to be one of most interesting qualifying sessions of the entire season. At one points, four different teams were trying to get to the front row. Here’s how the qualifying session at the Hungary GP played out today.

Hungary GP Qualifying Results- Top-10 Drivers from Today’s Session at Hungaroring

According to the official results from Formula 1, the top-10 drivers after Q3 in Hungary are-

Charles Leclerc – MON/ FERRARI
Oscar Piastri – AUS/ MCLAREN
Lando Norris – GBR/ MCLAREN
George Russell – GBR/ MERCEDES
Fernando Alonso – ESP/ ASTON MARTIN
Lance Stroll – CAN/ ASTON MARTIN
Gabriel Bortoleto – BRA/ KICK SAUBER
Max Verstappen – NED/ RED BULL RACING
Liam Lawson – NZL/ RACING BULLS
Isack Hadjar – FRA/ RACING BULLS

AN UNBELIEVABLE LAP FROM CHARLES!!!

LECLERC TAKES POLE FOR THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX!!! 🤩#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/9Tdemvurpp
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2025

While Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were battling it out on track, Charles Leclerc was stealthily creeping up the leaderboard. Leclerc had difficulty in reaching Q3. However, it took him one final lap to leave the McLarens in his dust. Charles Leclerc is going to start the race from pole position tomorrow. His final time was 1:15.372. The Tifosi have a big reason to celebrate today.

Almost every prediction ended with one name on pole, a McLaren. However, today the Papaya drivers lost out to Ferrari in the final moments of the qualifying session. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could not improve enough to strike down the Ferrari from provisional pole. Oscar Piastri was the better McLaren starting on front row. Meanwhile, Lando Norris is going to start in P3 tomorrow.

First Q3 runs done… here's the running order ⬇️

Piastri
Norris
Russell 👏
Alonso 💪
Verstappen
Leclerc
Lawson
Bortoleto
Stroll
Hadjar #F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/yyCg5M7oPx
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2025

George Russell was mostly working his way into the Q3 during the earlier stages. However, as the track temperature fell down, George Russell could utilise his Mercedes much better than before. Russell was trying to aim for pole with a final finish of P4. Viewers can enjoy the fact that only 0.053s separate the front row and second row.

A Surprising Qualifying Session in Q3 for Midfield Teams

A back injury or a slower car can’t stop a talented driver. Fernando Alonso is the living example for the same. The two Aston Martins will be extremely happy today. A P5 and P6 finish for Alonso and Stroll is one of their best finishes in qualifying in 2025. The best part of today’s qualifying was Alonso’s driving. The Spaniard was in contention for pole in the early stages of Q3.

Alonso heads out on track early and goes… P2! 🤩

A mega lap from Fernando! #F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/BXS0PTYfh9
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2025

Gabi continues his streak of impressive performances. He has been flying through the laps during the qualifying session for the past weekends. Once again, Gabi proved better than his teammate. Gabriel Bortoleto is going to start from P7 tomorrow. There’s only one man in Q3 who would rather forget the session, Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman was nowhere near the front runners. He has a terribly difficult race coming up tomorrow. Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar are the joy of Racing Bulls today. A double Q3 finish ensures that the Racing Bulls will be in fight for points tomorrow.

Hungary GP Qualifying Backmarkers- Lewis Hamilton’s Array of Disappointment Hits the Paddock

There’s no better driver than Lewis Hamilton around Hungary. The Briton has won more races than any other driver here. He holds numerous records at the Hungaroring circuit. Today, he was not able to claim a Q3 finish. The seven-time-champion had only two words to say on the radio- “every time”. Oliver Bearman will be the happier Briton today as he was able to go P11.

Carlos Sainz, Kimi Antonelli were among the drivers who could improve their time enough to land in the third stage of qualifying session. Franco Colapinto went P14. While it is far from being his best qualifying result, he was still able to beat his teammate today. A lot of competition prevails among the back markers.

Q2 CLASSIFICATION

Confirmation of the final placings 👀

Bortoleto into ANOTHER top 10 shootout! 💪#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/OENNQh9eTf
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2025

Only some time ago, people were expecting Yuki Tsunoda to perform better now than he is with Laurent Mekies. Although, Tsunoda could bring forth a P16 finish. Once again, his Red Bull is at the back of the grid. Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Ocon are the losers in today’s qualifying.

Each one of these drivers were out-qualified by their rather new and inexperienced teammates. All eyes are on the race tomorrow. The Hungaroring isn’t going to spare any driver who tries to commit a mistake. A good strategy and perfect pit stop is going to be the key to success tomorrow.

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Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.