Winner: Charles Leclerc

Taking pole has of course earned Charles Leclerc winner status on this list but it will take until the end of 70 laps to see whether he can become Ferrari’s first winner here in Hungary in eight years.

The pole itself came as a complete surprise to the Monegasque driver, who called it a “big boost for the team” given that they have been on a tougher run of form so far this year.

And this could have continued today. Leclerc was running a lower level of downforce seemingly than Hamilton, and much of the field, and when rain started to fall in Q2 he said he “wasn’t sure if [he’d] make it to the final session”. But once through, with the wind direction and temperature change impacting the McLarens negatively, Leclerc put in a blistering lap to take what he called “the most unexpected pole position” of his career.

Loser: Lewis Hamilton

On the opposite side of Ferrari’s fates was Lewis Hamilton, who ended the session out in Q2 and starting the Hungarian Grand Prix from P12. There was nothing inherently ‘wrong’ with his lap, but Fred Vasseur spoke post-race to his out lap being less than ideal which pushed his tyre preparation outside the optimal window and left them struggling to hang on beyond sector 2.

Hamilton himself called it a “massively disappointing day” where “being on the wrong side of a tenth” cost him the chance at moving forwards.

Winner: Aston Martin

As a team, Aston Martin have showed incredible progress up the field this weekend owing to the higher downforce, lower average speed characteristics of the Hungaroring.

In a vastly opposite display of performance from their qualifying result in Spa last time out, both drivers made Q3 with Alonso in P5 and Stroll in P6.

It marks their best joint qualifying result since Sao Paulo 2023, and Alonso praised their alternative run plan as being behind this.

“We decided to run in the middle of the session in Q3 to avoid any other wind changes,” he said, “and we were close to pole position, so I think this decision worked well for us.”

The team’s Chief Trackside Officer, Mike Krack, called it a “good result” and praised the team trackside and at the factory. Importantly he said “now we need to deliver a strong result in the race too” particularly as the chances of converting this to a double points finish are high given how tough overtaking can be in Hungary.

Loser: Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes’ plan of reverting their rear suspension specification to provide Antonelli with more confidence may have looked to have backfired given that he will start the grand prix from P15, but there were signs of progress.

Antonelli himself said “I’ve felt much more confidence in the car and in myself this weekend”, but lower grip as a result of higher tyre temperatures on his final Q2 run cost him the chance at improving his lap time and progressing any further.

It will be a frustrating result for team and driver given that they had the pace to make Q3, as demonstrated on the other side of the garage by Russell’s P4 result. Toto Wolff said Antonelli was “understandably disappointed” but should take confidence from the step forward he has taken to this point.

Winner: Racing Bulls

Racing Bulls’ drivers Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson earned the team’s second consecutive double Q3 result and their fourth of the year – but it was one that came with a tinge of disappointment as both drivers felt there was more in it.

Hadjar will line up 10th on the grid but said the wind picking up “significantly” made things “tricky” in Q3. He ended up in the grass as the car became less manageable in the changed conditions which left him with just one lap attempt. With another, he said “we could have got P7”.

On Lawson’s side, he ran twice in Q3 so was able to get into a better rhythm than Hadjar yet ended up just one place and 0.094s ahead of him. Again though, Lawson said the conditions meant they “missed out on a couple of spots”.

The team’s Chief Technical Officer, Tim Goss, said their “long run pace looks good from second practice” and so they’re “confident” of converting this into a double points finish.

Loser: Williams

Williams came into this weekend knowing it would be tougher and that their car would struggle with the characteristics of the Hungaroring. And this is what has played out so far, with Albon ending qualifying P20 and Sainz in P13.

James Vowles called it a “really interesting qualifying session” where they “learned a lot”. Both drivers ran through three sets of new soft tyres in an attempt to get them through to Q2 with ease, and while this benefitted Sainz, Albon wasn’t able to finish higher than 20th.

This tactic meant that, come Q2, Sainz had to run used tyres which compromised his pace further and, as for many drivers, he came out on the wrong side of a tight field and just 0.090s prevented him from making it through to Q3.

Although Williams currently sit P5 at the top of the midfield in the constructors’, today’s session was one where many of their closest rivals were able to claim higher grid positions than them.

Even so, James Vowles feels “it will come to us tomorrow” as he believes “the car in a race condition should be better than where it is today.”

Loser: Red Bull Racing

It’s been a torrid weekend for Red Bull so far – they’ve been on the back foot throughout, struggling for grip, balance and therefore pace – and today was no different.

It initially looked as though the team had found something overnight into FP3 after a very difficult Friday. But Tsunoda’s Q1 exit and P16 position quickly proved this wrong as he once again struggled with a lack of grip that left his lap time lacking the 0.024s necessary for a place in Q2.

For Verstappen it was a similar story. He was just a tenth and a half quicker than Tsunoda in Q1, and scraped through to Q3 despite complaining of it being like “driving on ice” as he had done earlier in the weekend.

Ultimately, he ended the day P8 with “quite a low grip feeling on the front and rear axel” plus poor balance costing him. Verstappen said “nothing made much of a difference” in terms of setup, which he felt was “strange” and hasn’t been the pattern where they’ve had difficult Fridays at other points earlier in the year.

Laurent Mekies, their new team principal, said they will “keep fighting” for a result in the grand prix as its set to take place in a “very different set of conditions” again.