BUDAPEST, Hungary – Lewis Hamilton roared to the 90th Formula One pole of his career on Saturday in a busy qualifying session at the Hungaroring.
Hamilton set a track record during the final round of qualifying, topping the charts with a fast lap of 1:13.447 to best his teammate and championship leader Valtteri Bottas by .107 seconds.
“The car was really hooked up today, but Valtteri didn’t make it easy for me at all,” Hamilton said. “It requires absolute perfection when it comes to these laps and that kind of Qualifying is one of the things I enjoy the most. The fact that it’s my 90th pole position… I have to pinch myself; it just doesn’t register. It’s humbling to be honest, because I get to work with such an incredible group of people and without them, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do this. A massive thank you to everyone back home and here at the track that do such an amazing job.
“Looking to tomorrow, it’s a long run down to turn one here, so nothing is a given and I’ve got to get my head down and work hard on delivering at the start. We don’t know what the weather is going to do, so we’ve got to put the work in this evening, prepare the best we can and focus on bringing home a one-two for the team.”
Racing Point was impressive during qualifying, locking out the second row with Lance Stroll qualifying third and Sergio Perez qualifying fourth. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc filled the third row.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified seventh, followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly qualifying 10th.