Summary

  • Lewis Hamilton takes his first pole since 2021, beating Max Verstappen by 0.003 seconds

  • P3 Norris, P4 Piastri, P5 Zhou, P6 Leclerc

  • Out in Q2: Sainz, Ocon, Ricciardo, Stroll, Gasly

  • Out in Q1: Albon, Tsunoda, Russell, Magnussen, Sargeant

  • Max Verstappen leads drivers' championship by 99 points from Sergio Perez

  • F1 extends Hungarian GP contract until 2032

Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Time for something new

    Qualifying will be using a different tyre format this weekend in Hungary with the introduction of the alternative tyre allocation (ATA).

    Teams will be obligated to use the hard tyre in Q1, the medium rubber in Q2 and only the soft compound for the pole position shootout in Q3.

    The number of tyre sets has also been reduced from 13 to 11, with three hard sets available and four sets each of the medium and soft.

    The idea is to reduce tyre usage on sustainability grounds and we'll see the format used again at the Italian Grand Prix in September.

    TyresPirelli Motorsport

  2. Third practice classification

    Lando Norris completed the top five in his McLaren but while the other top four runners were on the soft tyre, the Briton set his quickest time on yellow medium compound.

    Daniel Ricciardo, back in Formula 1 as a replacement for Nyck de Vries at Alpha Tauri, finished his third practice session in 18th place, just a fraction quicker than his new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

    Third practice classificationFormula 1

  3. F1 extends Hungary GP contract
    Breaking

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

    Formula 1 extends its contract with Hungarian Grand Prix until 2032

  4. Andrew Benson has news hot off the press to bring us...

  5. Welcome back

    Hello again, folks. The weather is overall rubbish in the UK but Budapest is keeping its nose clean with fairly settled conditions for today's fight for pole. The wind may stir up some trouble, however.

    Lights go green on Q1 at 15:00 BST.

    Full live commentary is online-only and available to listen to via the audio icon at the top of this page.

  6. That's more like it

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images

    Lewis Hamilton said his Mercedes felt "at its worst" on Friday after a disappointing run in second practice.

    Skip forward to Saturday's final hour of practice and the W14 is out of the dog house and clocking a fastest lap ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

    Can Hamilton stay on top and claim his first pole position since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021?

    He does love the Hungaroring...

  7. Report: Hamilton fastest in final practice

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images

    Lewis Hamilton was fastest in final practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen complained of a lack of grip in his Red Bull.

    Hamilton’s Mercedes was 0.250 seconds clear of Verstappen, who said after his lap: “Just no grip. It’s unbelievable.”

    Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was third fastest, ahead of Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg.

    And there was an impressive performance from McLaren’s Lando Norris, fifth fastest but just 0.271secs off the pace despite using the medium tyre.

    George Russell was sixth fastest in the second Mercedes, needing a second lap to move to 0.308s behind his team-mate, and ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who appeared to be struggling with instability.

    Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, using the soft tyre like the top four runners, was ninth, 0.539secs off the pace, although his time was set a little earlier than those ahead of him.

    Daniel Ricciardo, who returned to F1 this weekend at Alpha Tauri, was only 18th fastest, but 0.3secs quicker than team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who was slowest of all.

    Ricciardo, dropped by McLaren last year, has been drafted in by Red Bull to replace Nyck de Vries, who was sacked last week because the company were unsatisfied with his performances in his debut season.

  8. Back at 14:00 BST

    Lewis Hamilton should be a lot happier with his Mercedes after that session.

    We'll box this live for now and come back again at 14:00 BST to build-up to a slightly new-look qualifying format.

    Are you Barbie or Oppenheimer, I asked earlier on.

    Oppenheimer has it. 547 of you are going to see the three-hour epic compared to 161 of you off to watch the Barbie movie.

    See you shortly!

    Thumbs.

  9. Get Involved

    #bbcf1

    2ndLesmo: The corners aren't that slow here, it's the lack of straights that makes this circuit slow isn't it? So it isn't too much of a surprise for McLaren to still be quick.

  10. And the rest

    11. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

    12. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)

    13. Alex Albon (Williams)

    14. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

    15. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

    16. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    17. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

    18. Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri)

    19. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

    20. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)

  11. Top 10

    1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

    2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

    3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

    4. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

    5. Lando Norris (McLaren)

    6. George Russell (Mercedes)

    7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

    8. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

    9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

    10. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)

  12. Next up is Max Verstappen, bringing his Red Bull home in second place on the same tyres.

    A much better session for Sergio Perez, who finishes third and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg is fourth, all on the soft tyres.

    Lando Norris ends third practice in fifth place - but the McLaren man set his quickest time on the medium compound.

    Lando Norris drives his McLaren F1 carReuters
  13. chequered flag

    Chequered flag

    That's it for practice in Hungary.

    Lewis Hamilton is the fastest man in his Mercedes with a time of 1:17.811 on the soft tyres.

  14. Rosanna Tennant
    5 Live F1 reporter

    It's interesting because the upgrades Red Bull are bringing, Max Verstappen said "they are going to help us in the twisty bits, the corners" around the track but actually Hamilton looked more dominant in those twisty parts of the track in the Mercedes than Max did in the Red Bull.

  15. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg's team-mate Kevin Magnussen forces Lewis Hamilton to bob out of the way as his Haas blocks the path of the Mercedes. The timer has turned red. Not long left to bank a decent lap, if you want to.

  16. Ferrari have made an appearance on the soft tyres with the track ramping up with five minutes left on the clock. Charles Leclerc can only manage a sixth-fastest time, while team-mate Carlos Sainz is one place below in seventh.

    Blond Nico Hulkenberg is putting his newly acquired Kenergy to good use and fires his Haas into the top four with a 1:18.077 on the soft compound. Barbie will be pleased.

    Nico Hulkenburg drives his Haas F1 car, closely followed by Ocon in the AlpineGetty Images

  17. Jack Aitken
    Former Williams reserve driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

    Of course when it's warmer cars and tyres generally struggle a little bit more, less power, less grip from the tyre tends to overheat that bit quicker.

  18. Get Involved

    #BBCF1

    Kayleigh: I may have messed up going to the cinema right now for a 3 hour film. Thought quali was at 4! Please someone keep me updated thank you.

    Kayleigh, have no fear, we'll be here. Give us a rating on Oppenheimer when you get out of the pictures.

  19. Lewis Hamilton first, Max Verstappen second. Is that going to be our front row for the Hungarian Grand Prix tomorrow?

    Sergio Perez is third on the leaderboard, medium runner Lando Norris is fourth and Fernando Alonso is in fifth spot.

    Lewis Hamilton drives his Mercedes F1 carGetty Images

  20. Team radio - Verstappen

    No **** grip. It's unbelievable!