Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Air temperature is 24.7C and track 29.7C. Light wind from the NW. Under extensive cloud, light showery rain has been falling lately but is expected to gradually fade through the qualifying hour.

Rain intensity now expected to reduce and turn increasingly intermittent as we head in Q1.

BBC Sounds

Harry Benjamin, former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestly and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson are ready to take us through this session.

You can click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, or you can listen via most smart speakers.

Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying" to tune in.

Image source, Getty Images

The season is just over the halfway mark and it has certainly got exciting in the last few races. Fans are used to seeing Red Bull's Max Verstappen dominate during the grand prix weekends, but in the last three qualifying sessions, three different drivers from three different teams have taken pole position.

George Russell in the Mercedes was on pole at the British Grand Prix. Before that, Max Verstappen took pole at the Austrian Grand Prix, while the McLaren of Lando Norris was on the top spot for the Spanish Grand Prix.

In qualifying the tyre compounds are mandated for each of the three sessions. Drivers are only allowed hard tyres in Q1, medium tyres in Q2, and soft tyres in Q3.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

It’s no secret that the Mercedes car over the last couple of seasons hasn't been up to their usual standard.

But with the new upgrades it seems the car is performing and fighting for podiums.

Both drivers have dominated pole positions on this track for the last four years.

Lewis Hamilton (2023, 2021 and 2020) & George Russell (2022)

Could Russell or Hamilton pull off another pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix?

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari were well and truly in the fight a couple of months ago but have struggled since Charles Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix in May.

Leclerc’s highest qualifying was in Monaco when he put his car on pole around his home track, but since then he has not qualified higher than fifth.

His team-mate Carlos Sainz’ highest qualifying was fourth in Austria.

This weekend they have a modified floor which they are hoping will resolve aerodynamic problems.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has the pole record here at the Hungaroring with nine.

Off the back of his win at the British Grand Prix earlier this month, will he be able to put in the fastest lap this afternoon?

Image source, Getty Images

Wait, are F1 drivers Swiftie fans? Yes, you heard that correctly.

Some of the drivers like to play golf or padel in their spare time, but Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were spotted attending Taylor Swift’s latest concert in Italy earlier this week.

When Gasly was asked if he is now ‘Swiftie,’ he replied: “I guess I am now with Charles here.

“It was an incredible experience and I’ve never seen or heard an energy [like that] in a stadium.”

Image source, Pierre Gasly Instagram

Image source, Getty Images

Last time out it was George Russell in the Mercedes who secured pole position earlier this month at the British Grand Prix.

The team have been working hard on upgrades for the cars, and they certainly seem to be paying off.

But the Brit was unable to convert his pole to a race win after having to retire the car during the race.

Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris rounded out the top three in qualifying making it an all Brit top three.

Image source, Getty Images

Let’s rewind to qualifying at the Hungaroring last year where Lewis Hamilton earned pole position for the first time since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the McLaren of Lando Norris qualified second and third respectively.

Hamilton’s last pole was here and this is a track he knows like the back of his hand. Let's see what he can do today.

Image source, Formula 1

Final practice ended with a McLaren one-two, with Lando Norris topping the timesheet and Oscar Piastri behind him in a warm and dry session.

Max Verstappen spent most of the session on the hard compound of tyre before switching to softs in the final stages, where he finished third-fastest.

Mercedes' George Russell finished in fourth with Carlos Sainz in his Ferrari rounding out the top five.

Welcome back everyone. The grandstands are packed full of smiling fans preparing for what could be a very tasty qualifying session indeed.

Third practice ended with McLarens Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in first and second ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

The opening session of qualifying gets under way at 15:00 BST.

Live commentary will be online-only via this live page. Tune in to Harry Benjamin, former F1 mechanic Marc Priestley and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Silverstone

Image source, EPA

Lando Norris led Oscar Piastri to a McLaren one-two in final practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The Briton was 0.044 seconds quicker than his team-mate, with Verstappen 0.281secs off the pace.

An attempt by the world champion to improve his time at the end of the session was ended by a hefty lock-up into Turn One.

Mercedes’ George Russell was fourth quickest, while his team-mate Lewis Hamilton had a spin at Turn Nine while going for his fastest lap.

Russell was 0.466secs behind Norris; Hamilton ended up 10th as a result of his incident.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was fifth fastest, 0.541secs off the pace, ahead of the RB of Daniel Ricciardo and Williams’ Alex Albon.

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 10 ahead of Hamilton, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was only 11th.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with the new floor introduced at Silverstone but not this weekend’s new aerodynamic package that Verstappen is using, was 13th.

Grab yourself some lunch and join us again at 14:30 BST for build-up ahead of qualifying.

See you in a bit.

Image source, Getty Images

11. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

12. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

13. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

16. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

17. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)

18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

19. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

20. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:16.098

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.044

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.281

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.466

5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.541

6. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) +0.554

7. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.563

8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +0.598

9. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) +0.646

10. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.688

The Sauber of Zhou Guanyu is being wheeled back into the garage with an issue on his car.

His mechanics on the radio told him to "stay in gear. Slow in, slow in."

The Williams of Alex Albon puts his car in seventh on the soft compound of tyre.

Let's see what he can bring to qualifying later today.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

That was very strange. Hamilton wasn't going that fast - it looked like he had backed off - and still lost grip. There's dirt all over the circuit.