Verstappen takes maiden pole as Ricciardo qualifies 18th

Max Verstappen has claimed a maiden Formula 1 pole at the Hungarian Grand Prix while Daniel Ricciardo was consigned to 18th in qualifying after tripping up with traffic.

Verstappen became the 100th different pole-sitter in F1 history after Valtteri Bottas fell 0.018s shy of the Red Bull Racing driver’s track record 1:14.572s, while championship leader Lewis Hamilton was third in the second of the Mercedes.

Ricciardo, however, is buried in the field after he fell into the bottom five during the late shuffle of Qualifying 1 and could not lift himself out of there.

The Renault driver found himself stacked behind the Racing Point of Sergio Perez and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen at the final corner as he was readying himself for a final flying lap around the Hungaroring.

Ricciardo checked up then tried to drive around the outside of both, only for Perez to accelerate and force the West Australian to back out as he entered the main straight.

With the chequered flag just about to come out, Ricciardo was powerless to climb back into Qualifying 2 and will line up 18th on the grid.

Joining him on the sidelines after the first, 18-minute stanza were George Russell (Williams) in 16th, Perez in 17th, Lance Stroll (Racing Point) in 19th, and Robert Kubica (Williams) in 20th.

When Qualifying 3 got underway, it was Verstappen on top after the first runs with the only ‘14’ to that point, a 1:14.958s.

Bottas, Hamilton, and the Ferrari pair of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc were second through fifth respectively, with 0.178s separating first from second at the time.

Ultimately it was only the Ferraris which swapped positions in that top five when the second runs rolled out, with Leclerc briefly second on a 1:15.043s.

Verstappen found almost four more tenths and it was just as well given that Bottas then came through to set a 1:14.590s.

Hamilton was ultimately 0.197s off the pace and will be joined on the second row by Leclerc, who had spun at Turn 14 and backed into the barriers during Q1.

The big three locked out the first three rows as Pierre Gasly put his Red Bull on the outside of Vettel, albeit 0.878s slower than his pace-setting team-mate.

Each of the top six drivers set their fastest laps in Q2 on medium compound tyres and will therefore start the race on the yellow-banded rubber.

Row 4 is an all McLaren affair with Lando Norris edging Carlos Sainz, while the top 10 is rounded out by Haas’s Romain Grosjean and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen.

The highest factory Renault, the R.S.19 of Nico Hulkenberg, was only 11th after the German was last to be bumped out of progression to Q3, by Raikkonen.

Alongside him will be the Toro Rosso of Alexander Albon, who is followed by team-mate Daniil Kvyat, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, and Magnussen, although Giovinazzi could be sanctioned for obstructing Stroll during Q1.

Race start is on Sunday at 2310 AEST, with 70 laps the journey.

Results: Qualifying