F1

Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying: Rosberg snatches pole following dramatic last lap

Nico Rosberg snatched pole position from Lewis Hamilton in qualifying ahead of tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton looked all but set for pole in Hungary, the defending champion was on provisional pole. Hamilton, who has won four times in Budapest was looking to extend his advantage further in the closing stages of Q3 and was going faster.

Fernando Alonso spun in sector 2 which resulted in yellow flags causing Hamilton to slow down on his final effort.

Rosberg‘s track position behind Hamilton and Alonso worked in favour of the German. Rosberg slowed enough in the yellow flag zone and continued on his way snatching pole from Hamilton.

After the session,  Hamilton reflected saying “I felt good on the lap”. He continued “I was a bit unfortunate with Fernando but these things happen. I’m not too disappointed and we still have a long race ahead of us,” talking to the BBC.

It was another session which was without its controversy, as some thought Rosberg accelerated away in a yellow flag zone, but replays suggest this wasn’t the case and his move was legal.

Q1 was interrupted a number of times thanks to red flags caused by the wet conditions. Marcus Ericson, Felipe Massa and Rio Haryanto all fell victim to the difficult wet conditions in Hungary.

There was also further disappointment for the Ferrari pair, as Kimi Raikkonen qualified in a lonely 14th, whilst teammate Sebastian Vettel could only qualify 6th on the Grid in a difficult Q2.

The Red Bull duo once again qualified just behind the Mercedes, in another strong performance from Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, despite being affected by the last lap chaos.

The track began to dry up as qualifying went on, with some drivers taking full advantage on the change in conditions. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso qualified in an impressive 7th, with teammate Jenson Button coming in just behind in 8th, in a session which saw the McLaren’s both in Q3 for the first time since 2014.

Despite qualifying in 7th, Alonso will be disappointed with his finish as he looked set for a potential higher if it wasn’t for his last lap incident.