Max not further than P7 in qualifying Hungaroring: 'Disappointing'

Published on 18 July 2020 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen did not get any further than P7 during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Dutchman set a time of 1:14.849 in the last part of qualifying but was not able to improve this time in his second run, thus falling back into P7. Mercedes was again all powerful, and took the first row on the grid with almost a second in the lead. Lewis Hamilton came out on top and will start from pole position for the ninetieth time in his career.

“This is not what you want”, says Verstappen after qualifying. “I do not know what is going on, but clearly something is not working. Last year the car was really good around here, but this weekend we had no balance and grip. We have tried many things, but it does not seem to help. It has been a disappointing qualifying, it is hard to accept.”

Max finishes with looking ahead to the race tomorrow: “The pace is all very close, so we have to wait and see. We are not starting on the best tyre for the race, but it is what it is. I will try to do the best I can, and we will see where I end up. But it is a tricky track to overtake.”

Again there are heavy clouds when the first part of qualifying starts. Because of the threat of rain, everyone comes out on track straight away, including Max Verstappen. The Dutchman records the first time and sets a 1:16.136 on the soft tyre. Lewis Hamilton leads after the first runs with a 1:15.366. Verstappen has then fallen back into P7, behind the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo.

During the first part of qualifying the track improves significantly, so in the final minutes of the session it gets crowded on the Hungaroring. Verstappen is able to improve his time with more than six tenths, going through to Q2 in eight position. Kevin Magnussen, Daniil Kvyat, Romain Grosjean, Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen are the first to drop out of qualifying.

After his first timed lap in the second part of qualifying Max is in fourth position with a 1:15.148. Even though the Dutchman set his time on the softer compound in contrast to the Mercedes, the gap to the German formation is significant. It does not seem to be going well for Red Bull, as Max reports issues with balance of the radio. Teammate Alexander Albon is not comfortable with the RB16 either.

When the lights turn red marking the end of Q2, Verstappen has moved up to P3 with a 1:14.976. Hamilton finishes the session as fastest with a 1:14.261, set on mediums. Daniel Ricciardo, George Russell, Alexander Albon, Esteban Ocon and Nicholas Latifi fall short and drop out.

In the third and final port of qualifying Max opens with a 1:14.849, putting him in fourth position. Lewis Hamilton leads after the first run with a 1:13.613. Valtteri Bottas (+0.311), Lance Stroll (+1.058), Verstappen (+1.236), Lando Norris (+1.353) and Carlos Sainz (+1.414) form at that time the top six.

In the final phase of Q3 Max comes out on a used set of the soft tyre, but he is not able to improve his time and falls back to seventh position. Lewis Hamilton takes another half a tenth of this time and secures his ninetieth pole. Teammate Valtteri Bottas is only one tenth behind and will start the race tomorrow next to Hamilton. After a big gap, the top six is completed by Lance Stroll, Sergio Pérez, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc.

Hungarian GP contest: win a white RBR MV T-shirt from the new MV collection 2020

Results qualifying Hungary: