Hungarian Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen qualified 11th and 15th respectively for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Round 13 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

From the stifling heat of Friday’s practice sessions, the Hungaroring was met with cloudy, overcast conditions for Saturday’s qualifying session. A sprinkling of rain – with more threatening, meant uncertainty greeted the field at the start of Q1 but all cars gambled on dry tires to start the knockout round. 

Hulkenberg and Magnussen ran three sets of Pirelli P Zero Red softs in Q1 – the team pressed into using their planned Q2 set of softs to make the cut following a short red-flag stop for an accident involving the Red Bull of Sergio Perez – the possibility of more rain foremost in terms of strategy. When the track went green, Hulkenberg and Magnussen beat the clock by the narrowest of margins to get their final flying runs in. Hulkenberg delivered a 1:17.362 to storm to P6 while Magnussen logged a 1:17.851 for P15 – each progressing through to Q2.

Both VF-24s ran two sets of used soft tires in Q2. Hulkenberg successfully improved his best time to a 1:16.317 on his second attempt – the German finishing P11 but just missing out on a place in Q3 by one hundredth of a second – beating cars on fresh tires in the process. Magnussen was against the clock once again having been last car out on pitlane in the final minutes and was forced to push on his out-lap. The Dane ultimately set his best lap at the checkered flag – a 1:16.548, but had to settle for P15 in a challenging session.

McLaren locked out the front row of the grid for Sunday’s 70-lap race with Lando Norris (1:15.227) beating his teammate Oscar Piastri (1:15.249) to pole position in Q3.



Nico Hulkenberg:

“We were on the back foot, having to wait our turn and not squeeze in. It’s not great from where we are in the pitlane because we got compromised, but it’s really difficult to get the timing right anyway, it was too close for comfort today. Nonetheless, we crossed the line before the checkered flag and got our lap in, but it was certainly challenging. It wasn’t the pace that compromised me, it was the fact I only had used tires in Q2, we used them already in Q1 but without that, I would’ve sailed through.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“I think we had a car for Q3. We were just the last car out of the pitlane and with all the gaps being created I ran out of time and had to effectively push like it was my quali lap, so by the time you’ve got there you’ve already done a hard-pushing lap. There’s easily a lot of lap time lost from that, and we were only two-tenths from Q3, so that’s what cost us I think. I feel like ever since FP2 we’ve been really quick, so I’m annoyed we couldn’t put it in Q3 with the pace we feel we’ve got.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“Unfortunately, it was quite a frustrating day. You could see our potential from FP2 and FP3, the car had the speed. It was a tricky session to manage, but that wasn’t our best qualifying session in terms of managing it. We got both cars into Q2, the minimum was done, but we had the speed to get into Q3. Nico’s lap time in Q2 with used tires, he missed Q3 by one hundredth, so for sure if he had a new set of tires he would’ve made it through, also for Kevin too. Operationally, we didn’t quite put it together today and we know how important qualifying is in Hungary, so it’s a bit deflating right now. The good thing is even on a very low-speed, high-downforce circuit, which isn’t our strength, the car is competitive.”

Today's Data:

Event: Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix – Saturday July 20
Location: Hungaroring, Budapest
Layout: 4.381-kilometer (2.722-mile), 14-turn circuit
Weather: Cloudy / Drizzle
Air Temps: 24 degrees Celsius (75.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 29 degrees Celsius (84.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Nico Hulkenberg qualified 11th, Kevin Magnussen qualified 15th

Free Practice 3 (FP3) Rundown:

Hulkenberg: 8th overall (1:16.969), 15 laps 
Magnussen: 19th overall (1:17.507), 17 laps 
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:16.098)

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all Drivers – Top 15 Advance to Q2

Hulkenberg: 6th overall (1:17.362) – Advanced to Q2
Magnussen: 15th overall (1:17.851) – Advanced to Q2
Fastest: Daniel Ricciardo of RB (1:17.050)

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 Advance to Q3

Hulkenberg: 11th overall (1:16.317) 
Magnussen: 15th overall (1:16.548) 
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:15.540)

Q3 Qualifying: 12-mins – Top 10 Drivers

Pole Winner: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:15.227)