Norris Leads McLaren to Historic Front-Row Lockout in Hungary as Perez Faces Setback

Lando Norris leads a McLaren-dominated front row in Hungary, signaling ongoing struggles for Sergio Perez, according to a report by Lewis Larkam from Budapest.

Lando Norris led the way for McLaren, securing their first top-two qualifying positions in over a decade at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, while Sergio Perez faced ongoing challenges.

Norris narrowly outperformed his McLaren colleague Oscar Piastri, beating him by a mere 0.022 seconds to secure his third pole position in an intense qualifying round that was under the threat of mild rain. This is the first occasion since the Brazil 2012 race that McLaren has seen its vehicles achieve the top two spots in qualifying.

"Extremely delighted," Norris expressed in the parc ferme area. "The qualifying session wasn't straightforward, given the varying conditions, but finishing first is undoubtedly the highlight. It's particularly gratifying for the team to secure a one-two finish, so a big congratulations to them.

Our confidence is already high, so it's not as though we're in need of much more or actively seeking it. Heading into this weekend, buoyed by our recent successes, we felt optimistic about our chances to perform well and believed in the strength of our car to compete for the pole position, which is exactly what we accomplished today.

"We're ideally situated to handle any scenario that comes our way. With both cars leading the pack, we're in a prime spot to dictate the pace. Maintaining our current positions will definitely keep us content."

Max Verstappen narrowly missed the pole position by a mere 0.046 seconds, finishing third on the grid in his improved Red Bull, slightly behind Norris' leading time.

In the meantime, Perez, who races for Red Bull, experienced yet another disappointing qualifying session.

Facing heightened pressure to keep his position, the driver from Mexico crashed into the barriers at Turn 8 after losing control and spinning out in wet conditions during the first qualifying session.

Perez was unable to continue participating in the session and will begin from no better than the 16th position, subject to any adjustments for damage-related penalties.

Carlos Sainz secured the fourth-fastest time, trailing by around four tenths of a second, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton placing fifth and Sainz's fellow Ferrari racer, Charles Leclerc, following behind.

Fernando Alonso led his Aston Martin colleague Lance Stroll, securing the seventh spot, while both Red Bull drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, made an uncommon joint appearance in the top-10, completing the lineup.

A severe collision involving Tsunoda led to the third qualifying session being halted due to a red flag, with slightly more than two minutes remaining. When the session resumed, Ricciardo was the only driver able to enhance his timing.

Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed advancing to Q3, finishing 11th for Haas, only 0.010 seconds behind, with Sauber's Valtteri Bottas trailing him.

Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant from Williams secured the 13th and 14th positions, respectively, followed by Kevin Magnussen from Haas in 15th place.

George Russell experienced an unexpected early exit in Q1 following a messy session that placed him in the 17th position on the starting grid.

The driver for Mercedes was unable to achieve the necessary enhancements under the challenging circumstances, while his competitors managed to gain additional time towards the end of the session.

"Apologies for this session, team. My fault," Russell admitted through the team radio.

Zhou Guanyu finished in 18th place driving for Sauber, outperforming the Alpine team members, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. The latter two found themselves at the bottom of the rankings after their strategy to remain in the pits during the last few laps proved to be disastrously ineffective.

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