Ferrari's Charles Leclerc takes first pole of the season ahead of McLaren pair in Hungary

Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position after clocking a 1:15.372 in the final stages of qualifying. The Monegasque driver secured his 27th career pole and his first of the 2025 season. He will line up ahead of McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who start second and third.

“It was super difficult for us to get to Q2 and Q3,” Leclerc said. “In Q3 the conditions changed a little bit and everything became a lot trickier and I knew I had to just do a clean lap to target third.

At the end of the day it’s pole position and I definitely did not expect that.

Turn One will be key, I have no idea how it will go. One thing for sure is that I will do absolutely everything in order to keep that first place. If we manage to do that then that should make our life easier for the rest of the race.”

Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Sir Lewis Hamilton, a nine-time pole-sitter at the Hungaroring, was one of the surprise eliminations in Q2. After progressing through Q1, Hamilton was knocked out in the second session and will start 12th. “I’m just useless,” he said.

McLaren showed strong pace throughout the day. Piastri led the early phase of Q3 before Leclerc found the time on his final run to take the top spot.

“Not the best execution,” Piastri said. “I was a bit surprised that we couldn't go quicker than that. Second is still a decent spot to start. We'll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Norris, who lines up just behind in third, felt his lap in Q3 wasn’t his best. “Not an easy lap to put things together,” he said. “But when you do it feels nice. When you don’t, like in Q3, not so happy.”

George Russell will start fourth for Mercedes, followed by Aston Martin pair Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll in fifth and sixth. Gabriel Bortoleto delivered another strong performance for Kick Sauber and will start seventh. Max Verstappen qualified eighth for Red Bull, while Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar complete the top ten.

Light rain in Q2 forced teams to get on track early, with grip levels falling as the session went on. Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, one of the surprise eliminations, struggled with rear-end stability and exceeded track limits exiting the final corner, costing him a shot at Q3. He will start 11th. Also knocked out in Q2 were Haas’ Oliver Bearman, Williams’ Carlos Sainz, and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.

In Q1, Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Kick Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg, and Williams’ Alexander Albon were all eliminated.

The stage is now set for an unpredictable Hungarian Grand Prix, with Leclerc leading the charge.