Lando Norris makes good use of McLaren upgrades to claim pole for Hungarian Grand Prix

The World Champion topped FP3 and every segment of Qualifying before producing a 1m17.207s lap in Q3. It secured his second Hungaroring pole and the 17th of his Formula 1 career.

Norris’ result was also McLaren’s tenth pole in Hungary and the team’s 178th overall. It was his first pole carrying the World Champion’s Number 1 and the 11th of the season for a Mercedes-HPP-powered car. More importantly for McLaren, the performance suggested its latest development package had worked as expected.

The team arrived in Hungary needing evidence that its development direction could move the MCL40 closer to the front consistently. Norris’ clean sweep on Saturday provided the strongest indication yet that progress has been made.

Norris had looked comfortable throughout the final practice session, leading with a 1m17.939s after completing 20 laps. His fastest lap came when the pressure was highest in Q3. Norris admitted the final attempts were not perfect, but the McLaren still had enough performance to claim pole.

Speaking afterwards, Norris said: “It's a fantastic feeling to be back on Pole - it’s been a while, but I've felt confident all weekend. The car was performing very well, and the team has done a brilliant job with the new upgrades, we certainly wouldn't be here without them.

"While my final laps in Q3 weren't perfect, we had the pace when it mattered, and securing Pole is a huge boost for everyone. This result is a testament to the hard work at the factory and the progress we're making," added the World Champion.

The result gives Norris the best possible starting position at a circuit where overtaking is traditionally difficult. However, McLaren are not expecting pole position to make Sunday straightforward.

Ferrari demonstrated strong pace throughout the weekend, while tyre degradation is expected to play an important role during the race.

Norris added: “Looking to the race, we're in the best position we've been in all season, but I'm expecting a very tough fight tomorrow. The Ferraris have shown incredible pace, and tyre degradation will be a major factor.

"Starting from the front is obviously an advantage here, but we need a good start and excellent race management. Beating them tomorrow will definitely not be easy. We need a few more results like this to feel a bit more confident about our performance, but today is certainly a good start," cocnluded Norris.

In the sister McLaren, Oscar Piastri completed a positive Saturday for McLaren, although his final Qualifying position did not reflect what he believed was possible. He ended P5 in Q3 with a 1m17.684s after his final flying lap was compromised when he encountered Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1.

Piastri said afterwards: “We had more in us and we had good performance in the car but were impeded by Hamilton at Turn 1, so I didn’t get to do my final flying lap. I felt like we had made good progress throughout FP3 and into each Qualifying session, especially with the new package, so it was a shame to not be able to show our full potential.

“It's encouraging to see Lando on Pole, so congratulations to him, and to see that we are making progress with performance, so we can take positives from that. The team have done a great job with the latest package, so we will keep pushing on that front to keep finding more and more lap time.”

Piastri faces a more difficult race from P5, particularly because passing opportunities are limited around the narrow Hungaroring: “Looking ahead to tomorrow, we will try and get a good start and see what we can do. Overtaking here is tricky, but we will give it everything and aim for the podium.”

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella described the pole as both fantastic and unexpected. While the result confirmed the upgrades had delivered the predicted gains, Stella cautioned against assuming McLaren had suddenly become the team to beat.

The Italian said: “Securing Pole position was a fantastic and somewhat surprising result for the whole team. The new upgrades we brought to the track performed exactly as we had anticipated, and this outcome is a testament to the months of relentless effort from everyone back at the factory in developing and delivering these parts.

“While we have a lot of progress to still make, today confirms that our development direction seems the right one, and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved. My thanks go to the team, both at the factory and trackside, for their hard work and commitment," added the McLasren team principal.

Stella credited Norris and his engineers with maximising the available performance. He also felt Piastri could have achieved more without the incident on his final run. McLaren will now attempt to convert its breakthrough pole into a first victory of the season.

Stella nevertheless is wary of the 'favourite' tag: “While we will certainly aim for victory starting from the front, we remain realistic about the challenge ahead. Our competitors, especially Ferrari, have shown very strong pace all weekend, and we believe they are still the favourites for the race.

“We know we have more work to do to be in this position consistently, but the good news is that we are in the fight. We hope to capitalise on this opportunity and deliver a strong performance for both drivers," concluded Stella.

Pole position does not prove McLaren’s problems have been solved. It does, however, show its upgrades have produced tangible performance at a circuit where confidence, balance and track position matter.
(Reporting by Agnes Carlier at Hungaroring)