Verstappen starts from third on the grid in Hungarian GP, Norris seals pole position

Max Verstappen will start from third place at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. The three-time Formula 1 world champion was only slightly slower at the Hungaroring than the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who will start from pole position.

Verstappen holds 255 points in the championship standings, with Norris on 171. The young Dutchman has won the last two races of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

"I tried," Verstappen said after qualifying. "We were behind all weekend, and I tried to do the best I could, but it wasn't enough. I would have liked to have had a bit more grip..."

The Dutch Red Bull driver was very frustrated with the results when he crossed the line after his second flying lap in qualifying. "The lap was okay, but not good enough. We've been just too slow all weekend. That's the story," NOS reports.

In the first qualifying session (Q1), Sergio Pérez flew off the track in changing weather conditions, forcing the Mexican to retire as he was too badly damaged. Verstappen's team-mate at Red Bull also came off the track in Q1 at Silverstone two weeks ago. After the race resumed, Daniel Ricciardo (RB) set the fastest time ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Verstappen.

The Dutchman was only beaten by Norris in Q2 but dropped back to third place in Q3. At the end, a crash involving Yuki Tsunoda (RB) brought out another red flag, but Verstappen did not return to the track. Nobody was able to improve their lap time on the final lap.

The Hungarian Grand Prix starts on Sunday at 3 p.m.