How Verstappen's Hungary F1 qualifying pain was his race day gain

In Hungary Max Verstappen failed to start a Formula 1 grand prix from pole position for the first time since early May in Miami. Old foe Lewis Hamilton beating him in qualifying forecasted a genuine threat to Verstappen's dominance, but the weakness in qualifying became a strength in the race as the Dutchman blew away his opposition to secure a record 12th consecutive triumph for Red Bull

The outcome of the Hungarian Grand Prix all boiled down to one event: what happened in the first corner. Largely dormant since 2021, the Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen rivalry resurfaced as the two locked out the front row, where Hamilton claimed his first Formula 1 pole since the two did battle amid the final year of the previous generation of cars.

If Verstappen suffered a repeat of his opening salvo in the British Grand Prix two weeks prior, Hamilton could theoretically employ the solid race pace present in the Mercedes, and realistically make life more difficult for Red Bull. Conversely, should the Dutchman get the upper hand into the tight opening corner, his hopes of delivering a 12th successive win for the Red Bull squad to break McLaren's record-holding 11-race streak from 1988 would increase exponentially.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.