The margins in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying final weekend have been a few of the closest Method 1 has ever seen.

However the race was nothing like as shut. After Max Verstappen crossed the road for his seventh consecutive win over half a minute handed till the subsequent automotive on the identical lap arrived.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton beat Verstappen to pole place by 0.003 seconds. That was the smallest pole-winning margin since Sebastian Vettel beat Fernando Alonso to pole for the 2010 German Grand Prix by 0.002s.

However whereas Alonso’s profitable margin in that race was simply 4 seconds (after Felipe Massa was infamously instructed “Fernando is quicker than you”, and pulled apart), Verstappen had 33 seconds in his pocket on the chequered flag on Sunday.

Saturday’s qualifying session was the primary to be determined by lower than a hundredth of a second for the reason that 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix, the place Valtteri Bottas out-paced Mercedes staff mate Hamilton by 0.007s. Two years earlier within the British Grand Prix Bottas denied Hamilton pole by 0.006s.

With simply 0.577s protecting the highest 10, this was the closest Q3 ever run for the reason that present qualifying format was launched in 2006. It matched the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix the place the highest 10 in qualifying have been coated by the identical margin.

Regardless of the unusually shut margins within the pole-deciding shootout, the 0.889s hole protecting first to fifteenth in Q2 was solely the closest since Monaco earlier this 12 months and the 1.105s protecting the entire area in Q1 meant it was not at the same time as shut because the opening phase of qualifying on the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this month.

Hamilton now has the report for probably the most pole positions at a single grand prix, with it being the ninth time he has topped qualifying on the Hungaroring. He beforehand shared the report with Michael Schumacher (at Suzuka) and Ayrton Senna (Imola), and Hamilton additionally has eight pole in Melbourne. It was the fifteenth time a Mercedes-powered automotive has taken pole in Hungary, and the ninth time that the staff has achieved the feat.

Zhou had a fantastic Saturday, simply don’t point out SundayZhou Guanyu claimed his (and China’s) finest ever F1 qualifying outcome by lining up fifth on the grid, with Alfa Romeo staff mate Bottas in seventh. That marked the primary time two Alfa Romeos had contested Q3 for the reason that 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.

Together with their earlier guise as Sauber, this staff’s vehicles had lined up sixth and seventh for the 2019 Austrian GP and 2018 Brazilian GP, however had really certified seventh and eighth at each of these occasions. Due to this fact final weekend was their finest mixed qualifying outcome for the reason that 2012 Japanese Grand Prix the place Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez began third and fifth respectively after a penalty for a rival promoted every driver up a spot from their qualifying positions.

Haas staff principal Guenther Steiner enthused over Nico Hulkenberg‘s one-lap capacity as he certified tenth in Hungary, marking his sixth Q3 look from 11 makes an attempt in 2023. In distinction, staff mate Kevin Magnussen has gone out in Q1 seven instances this season.

The beginning of the race on Sunday marked the primary time two Australians have raced in F1 for the reason that 2013 Brazilian GP, with Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri and Oscar Piastri at McLaren. Ricciardo was making his first begin in 246 days.

Piastri went on to complete fifth to set a really spectacular stat: he’s the primary driver since Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen in 2007 to assert two top-five leads to their first 11 F1 races. Kovalainen took seven races to realize the feat, whereas Hamilton managed it in simply two begins as he famously reached the rostrum in each.

Verstappen and Crimson Bull reached an much more spectacular achievement than that, as Verstappen’s private finest run of seven successive wins additionally helped Crimson Bull beat McLaren’s long-standing report of 11 wins in a row.

Senna’s Spa win was McLaren’s eleventh in a rowPerez and Verstappen have ensured Crimson Bull have gone unbeaten within the final 12 races, together with the 2022 season finale. Crimson Bull due to this fact beat McLaren’s report for many consecutive wins.

McLaren scored 11 consecutive wins at the beginning of 1988, as Crimson Bull have achieved this 12 months. However the aggressive footage between their two drivers might hardly be way more completely different. In 1988, Senna led McLaren staff mate Alain Prost by three factors. At present, Verstappen has a 110-point margin over Perez.

In fact a win is price 25 factors in the present day in comparison with 9 in 1988. However below in the present day’s scoring system, not solely would the McLaren drivers be even nearer, however in a unique order: Prost can be two factors forward of Senna.

McLaren completed one-two in eight of these races, whereas Crimson Bull has achieved that solely 4 instances this 12 months. Mercedes took seven one-two finishes at the beginning of 2015 and ‘19, and 6 in 2014, Williams and Ferrari had six one-twos in 1992 and 2004 respectively, McLaren achieved 5 in 1998.

The McLarens in 1988 have been powered by Honda engines, and Crimson Bull use Honda Crimson Bull Powertrains-branded items. That meant Honda successfully beat their very own consecutive wins report, and technically took their eighth Hungarian GP win as an engine provider. It was Crimson Bull’s fourth win in Hungary, and with a 33.731s profitable margin it was probably the most dominant win in F1 since Verstappen’s 2021 Styrian Grand Prix victory by 35.743s over Hamilton.

Piastri is having a powerful rookie seasonLando Norris scored consecutive podium finishes for the primary time in his profession as McLaren continued their upswing in type. This was the primary time McLaren have taken podium finishes in consecutive races since they gained the ultimate two rounds of 2012 with Hamilton on the Circuit of the Americas and Jenson Button at Interlagos.

Alpine suffered their first double retirement for the reason that 2022 Singapore Grand Prix: Though neither of their vehicles really met the chequered flag at this 12 months’s Australian Grand Prix however they have been nonetheless categorised, as was Pierre Gasly at Silverstone the place Ocon dropped out early on.

Ferrari completed two races with no automotive within the prime 5 for the primary time since 2021, whereas Aston Martin’s run to ninth and tenth with their vehicles marked the staff’s worst exhibiting the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

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