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The grid for the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP is set and we will have Lewis Hamilton starting the race on pole position. He will be accompanied on the front row by a familiar foe in Max Verstappen, followed by the McLaren duo.
There were quite a few surprises this weekend as we saw a few teams put together some surprising performances.
Having said that, it was nice to see Hamilton secure pole position and end a close to 600-day wait since the last one. With the grid for the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP set now and the adrenalin from the qualifying session starting to fade, who would be looking back at the session upset? And who would be chuffed and looking forward to Sunday? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Hungarian GP Qualifying
Winner
Lewis Hamilton
Pole no.104 but more than that, a reminder to the doubters of who Lewis Hamilton truly is. The driver's future is still not certain. He has still not signed the much-talked-about extension with Mercedes that everybody seems interested in. Having said that, the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP qualifying session was not about that.
It was a throwback to what made Hamilton a true legend of the sport. It was the ability to be peerless in a car that responds to his demands. In a car that was competitive and in a car that gave him the opportunity to challenge for pole position. This was a feel-good moment for the fans and sets up the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP perfectly.
Loser
George Russell
When your teammate is in pole position but you're not even qualifying inside the top 10, it is a very dark place to be. This is the place that George Russell finds himself in right as he tries to come to terms with a poor qualifying session. Sure, there was a strategic mishap when it came to Russell, but a question could be asked as to why he found himself in that situation.
Or why his teammate was able to overcome the same challenge and qualify on pole? At Mercedes, there might be some concerns about the development graph of George Russell right now, especially since he's not driving like someone who could prove to be a successor to Lewis Hamilton.
Winner
McLaren
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was the true litmus test for McLaren. The car had worked like a charm on the long straights of Austria and the fast-speed sections of Silverstone. The only particular type of track that had not been touched was the slow-speed Hungaroring. The team had struggled a lot in these specific sections of the track in the past.
Even Zak Brown was a bit sceptical about how the car would do at the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP. Rest assured, it works brilliantly and McLaren now has a frontrunner in its hands.
Loser
Ferrari and Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso has placed the blame squarely on the new tires introduced in Silverstone, but that can't be it. Aston Martin was a team that was a perennial frontrunner in F1 but has gone completely off the boil in the last few races.
Yes, one could argue that the race in Silverstone where the new tire was introduced played a role in their performance on that track.
However, you cannot, however, say the same thing about what happened in Austria and even Barcelona. There's something strange going on with Aston Martin and it needs to find out what's going on.
Talking about Ferrari, you have to say that while a lot of things are happening in the background as Fred Vasseur continues to bolster the team, It's hard to see much progress on the track. The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was another reality check for a team that promised a lot at the start of the season but is falling away once again in a very familiar fashion.
Winner
Alfa Romeo
After qualifying, even Toto Wolff joked that Alfa Romeo would not be confident about why the car is so strong around the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP circuit. The car seems to be doing an impressive job around Hungaroring but all of it does come as a surprise.
Having said that, the team will take this result with both hands and hope to secure strong points in the race on Sunday.
Loser
Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda's partnership with Daniel Ricciardo could not have started on a worse note. The partnership is basically a shootout for a Red Bull seat between these two drivers. The first 10 races have seen Yuki dominate teammate Nyck de Vries.
An underprepared, out-of-practice Daniel Ricciardo, on the other hand, has come in and out-qualified him in the very first race. Sure, things could change on Sunday during the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP, but in terms of first impressions, Ricciardo nailed it.
