Lando Norris took his first pole position of the year in Hungary but is cautious about whether he can follow it up with his first victory as world champion.
Perhaps the McLaren driver was casting his mind back to Miami in early May, when he was leading towards the end of the first stint of the race, only for his team to make a strategic mis-step and allow Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli to sneak in for a win.
“You can’t just rely on one good qualifying, so I need a good race tomorrow,” Norris said.
“Then we obviously have a nice summer break, but after that we need to try and repeat it several more times.
“We’ve been working hard. We know we’ve been on the back foot, but we’re making progress and today certainly shows that.”
Much of the attention at the Hungarian Grand Prix has been on the massive upgrade made by Aston Martin on their recalcitrant car, which has provided the troubled team with a major step forward and allowed Fernando Alonso to escape the first qualifying session for the first time all season.
That meant McLaren’s own upgrade went under the radar somewhat, but it has been effective.
Still, team principal Andrea Stella, while expressing his satisfaction that the upgrades had enabled them to engage in a fight for pole they did not expect, said Norris’ pole was an “overachievement”.
McLaren’s own good execution of qualifying was one factor, he said, in addition to an under-performance from Ferrari, and perhaps even Antonelli and Mercedes.
Ferrari came into Hungary as most people’s favourite, including McLaren’s, on the basis that their car is the fastest in the corners, but lacks engine performance, and this is one of the least power-sensitive tracks on the calendar.
Lewis Hamilton was fastest after the first runs in the final part of qualifying but did not improve on his final lap. Shortly after completing it, he blocked Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri and the stewards imposed a three-place grid penalty for impeding the Australian.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur said the team took responsibility for that because they did not warn Hamilton in time.
The seven-time world champion later posted on Instagram:, external “Sometimes you just can’t catch a break. Another weekend when I’ve been feeling great throughout all the sessions, but then it just falls apart.”
Referencing penalties he had been given in the previous two races in Britain and Belgium, Hamilton added: “I always do my best to keep positive – sport is always about the highs and lows, but it’s also in the margins. Every point counts and you have to seize every opportunity. After three penalties in three weekends, it’s becoming difficult to hang on to that positivity.
“Still, I won’t let the setbacks take away from the progress we’ve been making as a team. With the pace we have, I’m hopeful we can get something out of the race tomorrow.”