George Russell Claims Maiden F1 Pole As Verstappen Struggles

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — George Russell won his first career Formula One pole with a fast final qualifying lap Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

It gave Mercedes its first pole of the season on the same day reigning F1 champion and current points leader Max Verstappen lost power and qualified a season-worst 10th.

Russell screamed in celebration after beating Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to grab the first pole of his career.

“Whooooo, come on! Yes! Hahahaha. You beauty! You beauty!” yelled Russell before jumping into the arms of his engineers.

Verstappen unleashed a series of expletives as his qualifying was undone.

Verstappen struggled with grip then complained of having “no power ... nothing works” on his second attempt.

The Hungaroring track, nestled amid rolling hills just outside of Budapest, had dried out somewhat for afternoon qualifying following a huge downpour during third practice.

Leclerc — who leads F1 with seven poles this season — crashed while leading the French GP last Sunday to hand Verstappen a win that gave the Dutchman a 63-point lead over Leclerc in the standings.

But now Leclerc has an ideal chance to close the gap Sunday on one of F1′s hardest tracks for passing.

Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez had a disappointing session and starts from 11th place.

“It’s been a bad day,” Perez said. “It’s certainly going to be difficult to overtake tomorrow.”

Lando Norris of McLaren qualified fourth ahead of Esteban Ocon — last year’s winner — Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.