Lewis Hamilton missed out on pole position for the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix by the smallest of margins and now faces a post-session stewards’ investigation.
Hamilton is the most successful driver at the Hungaroring, and he was on form for Ferrari during qualifying, on Saturday.
After the first flying laps in Q3, the Briton held a handy advantage over Lando Norris, but the McLaren driver was able to overturn his deficit and claim a shock pole by just 0.012s on his final flying lap.
Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc were the first ones out, late in the top 10 shootout, while the Woking-based team timed Norris’ run to perfection – the Briton evading two late-session yellow flags caused by Max Verstappen and George Russell to keep his flying lap intact.
Looking back on the session, the Ferrari driver was baffled by the call made on the pit wall.
“We have been doing a great job all weekend. I felt solid throughout qualifying,” he said.
“For some reason, we went out first, which I don’t think was the right call. But then, on top of that, just the grip for some reason wasn’t there on that last lap for both Charles and me.
“We were quickest throughout qualifying so it definitely got away from us.”
Lewis Hamilton faces FIA scrutiny after F1 Hungarian GP qualifying incident
As things stand, the seven-time F1 World Champion is slated to start the race on Sunday from the front-row of the grid.
However, his ‘mis-timed’ final Q3 run has also put him in hot water with the stewards. After completing his lap, Hamilton got caught up with Oscar Piastri into Turn 1.
Hamilton was clearly impeding the McLaren driver, and has been summoned to the stewards, with a grid drop looking like the most likely scenario for the Briton.
“I think my mind is just elsewhere just this second because once I finished my lap I don’t know if I got in the way of someone,” Hamilton added.
“So I’m trying to just run that through my mind because I wasn’t aware anyone was coming.”
Looking ahead to the race on Sunday, Hamilton weighed his chances against the odds that have seemingly stacked up, after qualifying.
“It’s obviously a track that I love,” he concluded.
“We’re obviously competitive, but I think tomorrow is going to be a hard day.”
Hamilton is an eight-time winner of the Hungarian GP, and would be eager to get back on the top-step of the podium here, for the first time since 2020, to bag his second win of 2026, and consolidate his title credentials heading into the summer break.
READ MORE – Lando Norris denies Lewis Hamilton to take F1 Hungarian GP pole position
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