As a result, the Red Bull F1 driver crossed the timing line in Q3 with seven seconds left to run but having circulated 0.02s slower than his previous effort.
That left the door open for Lewis Hamilton. In a shootout where track evolution was pronounced, he was the last person over the line and bolted to a 1m16.609s. That returned his 104th pole position and prevented Verstappen from snaring a sixth in a row. The Mercedes racer had hustled the W14 round the 2.72-mile Budapest lap 0.023s quicker than Verstappen’s final lap and 0.003s better than his rival's best.
