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FACTS AND STATS: Hamilton and Verstappen both start outside the top 6 for the first time since 2018 after Hungarian qualifying
George Russell grabbed his maiden pole position in a frenetic qualifying session at the Hungaroring that saw shocks aplenty. Red Bull couldn’t fix a late power issue for Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton suffered a DRS issue, while though the Ferrari drivers managed clean laps, they just couldn’t compete with the pace of Russell. Here are all the best facts and stats from Hungary…
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George Russell is the 105th driver to take a World Championship pole and the third new pole-sitter of 2022 after Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.
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Russell’s pole was his team’s eighth in Hungary, which ties McLaren and Ferrari for the Hungaroring record.
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Sainz outqualified Charles Leclerc for only the third time this season.
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Leclerc has never won a race from outside the front row.
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Lando Norris was fourth, which ties both his and McLaren’s best start of the season.
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Norris’s starting slot is also McLaren’s best in Hungary since 2012, when Lewis Hamilton was on pole and Jenson Button fourth.
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Esteban Ocon was fifth, three places higher than he qualified when he won this race last season.
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It also ties the Frenchman’s best qualifying of the season.
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Fernando Alonso was sixth, the first time both Alpine cars have qualified in the top six in 2022.
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Hamilton was seventh, meaning neither he nor Max Verstappen are in the top six on a grid for the first time since the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix, where they both had grid penalties.
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Valtteri Bottas was eighth, ending a run of six consecutive Q2 eliminations.
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Daniel Ricciardo was ninth, in his first Q3 appearance at the Hungaroring since 2017.
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It was the first time both McLarens reached Q3 since Imola.
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Verstappen was P10, having not qualified outside the top four previously this season.
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It’s also the Dutchman’s lowest ever start at the Hungaroring.
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Verstappen has managed three podiums in his career after starting from 10th or lower. Those came from 16th, 18th and 20th starting slots.
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Perez was out in Q2 for the second time this year, and also failed to make Q3 in Hungary for the seventh time in his last nine visits.
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Zhou Guanyu was 12th, meaning it is the first time both Sauber-run cars start in the top 12 here since 2007.
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Lance Stroll managed to end a streak of seven straight races where he has exited in Q1.
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Yuki Tsunoda starts 16th, having also fallen in Q1 in 2021 and also started P16.
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Sebastian Vettel failed to reach Q3 in Hungary for the first time since 2008.
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The German was just 0.069s away from getting into Q2.
WATCH: Vettel crashes out of final practice in Hungary
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Pierre Gasly suffered his second consecutive Q1 elimination, for his fifth Q1 exit of the season. He’s never previously started outside the top 10 in Hungary.
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Nicholas Latifi was the slowest qualifier for the second straight weekend, after topping the timing sheets in FP3.
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