Formula 1 qualifying results: Starting grid for Hungarian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen suffers power problems

Joe Wright

Formula 1 qualifying results: Starting grid for Hungarian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen suffers power problems image

It's hard to imagine anyone saw that coming — least of all Mercedes.

Just as it looked like being a Ferrari front row for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, George Russell produced the lap of his life to claim a first pole position in Formula One.

Russell's time of 1:17:377 saw him pip Carlos Sainz to pole by just 0.044 seconds, with Charles Leclerc third, Lando Norris fourth and Esteban Ocon fifth ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso.

While Mercedes celebrated a shock result, Red Bull were left to investigate quite what went wrong on Saturday.

Max Verstappen had looked strong on the rapidly drying circuit, but it was a different story for Sergio Perez, who was eliminated in Q2 in 11th. Still, nobody expected Verstappen to end qualifying just one place ahead.

A fast lap in Q3 was spoiled by grip problems. Then, the championship leader told his team he had "no power". By the end of the session, he was barking down the radio that "nothing works". Whatever the problem, Red Bull have got some work to do if they are to head into F1's summer break on a high.

Barring any late intervention from the stewards, this is the starting grid for the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix:

Position Driver Team
1 George Russell Mercedes
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
4 Lando Norris McLaren
5 Esteban Ocon Alpine
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo
9 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren
10 Max Verstappen Red Bull
11 Sergio Perez Red Bull
12 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin
15 Mick Schumacher Haas
16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri
17 Alexander Albon Williams
18 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin
19 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying as it happened

RUSSELL TAKES POLE POSITION! Oh wow! Just as it looked like being a Ferrari one-two, Russell goes fastest with 1:17:377! Sainz will start second on the grid, with Leclerc third.

Verstappen had major trouble in that final session, telling his team he had "no power" and "nothing works". He will start the Hungarian Grand Prix in 10th!

5:00 left in Q3: All 10 cars are in the pits — we're ready for the final charge! Verstappen has looked strong but he complained of grip problems just now, so chasing down Sainz's time could be tricky.

7:00 left in Q3: Sainz goes quickest with 1:17:505 and Russell takes second ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton. Verstappen locked up and could not get near that time.

Q3 IS UNDERWAY: Can anyone stop Verstappen taking pole?

END OF Q2: Perez is out! Bottas and Ocon find some speed at the end of the session and the Red Bull driver drops to 11th. Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll and Mick Schumacher are also eliminated. Perez told his team over the radio that Magnussen blocked him on a fast lap.

3:00 left in Q2: Perez's time has been reinstated, which is a good job for Red Bull as his most recent fast lap wasn't up to much. Ocon and Bottas are back out to try to snatch a place in Q3.

5:00 left in Q2: Alonso posts a brilliant lap to go second, 0.201 behind Verstappen. The McLarens are looking good and sit fourth and fifth. Hamilton leaps out of the elimination zone and back into third, meaning Sainz has got some work to do.

9:00 left in Q2: Verstappen smashes Norris' fastest time with 1:17:703, more than four tenths of a second faster than anyone else. Perez had been third, but his time has been deleted after he exceeded track limits. He'll have to get back out there.

11:00 left in Q2: Russel goes quickest ahead of teammate Hamilton, but Leclerc and Sainz soon push the Mercedes pair back into third and fourth.

Q2 IS UNDERWAY: The cars are on the track for the second session. It's looking pretty dry out there, so these times should continue to drop. Hamilton is trying to set the pace again.

END OF Q1: What was that about Mercedes pessimism? Hamilton and Russel end Q1 in the top two positions, ahead of Sainz and Verstappen! Alonso went sixth-quickest with a strong final lap and Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon is in the top 10. Nicholas Latifi, the fastest man in the final practice session, was the slowest driver in Q1.

5:00 left in Q1: What a lap from Hamilton, who sets the second-fastest time of the session... but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz soon go quicker! Verstappen still leads by five hundredths of a second, with Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso also looking good. 

10:00 left in Q1: Verstappen goes under 1:19:00! The championship leader is setting the early pace. Perez is now second-quickest ahead of Russell. Vettel drops into the elimination zone.

14:00 left in Q1: Verstappen goes quickest, just ahead of Hamilton and Russel, with Sergio Perez fourth-fastest. Valtteri Bottas is the only other driver to go under 1:20:00 so far.

Q1 IS UNDERWAY! The sun is out, and so are the first few drivers (although to describe the storm clouds in the distance as 'ominous' would be an understatement).

10 minutes to go: We're not far off the start of Q3 here. The rain is holding off for now, so expect the track to dry out as today's action proceeds.

30 minutes to go: Mercedes had a terrific weekend in France last time out with that double-podium finish, but there's a bit more pessimism about their chances here.

"The car's a bit of a struggle," Lewis Hamilton said on Friday. "It's crazy how much it swings from track to track but yeah, we've just got to figure out how to get it working.

"At the moment it's a little bit loose and it's not doing what we wanted to do."

45 minutes to go: The rain posed plenty of problems during today's early practice session. Sebastian Vettel, who announced this week he will be retiring from F1 this year, spun into the barriers and caused the session to be red-flagged. You can watch that below (UK viewers only):

1 hour to go: Well, this could be interesting! Today's qualifying session at the Hungarian Grand Prix takes place in cool, changeable conditions after some heavy earlier rain. Of all people, it was Nicholas Latifi who coped best in third practice to post the fastest time, ahead of Charles Leclerc.

MORE: Watch the Hungarian Grand Prix live with fuboTV (free trial)

Here's what you need to know about this year's Hungarian GP:

What channel is the F1 race on today?

  • Race: Hungarian Grand Prix
  • Date: Sunday, July 31
  • TV channel: ESPN
  • Live stream: fuboTV

The ESPN family of networks will broadcast all 2022 F1 races in the United States using Sky Sports' feed, with select races airing on ABC. You can also stream Formula 1 races live in the U.S. with fuboTV, which offers a free trial.

ESPN Deportes serves as the exclusive Spanish-language home for all 2022 F1 races in the U.S.

What time does the F1 race start today?

  • Date: Sunday, July 31
  • Start time: 9 a.m. ET

Sunday's 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. local time. Lights out will likely take place just after 9 a.m. ET. ESPN's prerace show typically airs in the hour before the start of the race.

Below is the complete TV schedule for the weekend's F1 events at the Hungarian Grand Prix. All times are Eastern.

Date Event Time (ET) TV channel
Friday, July 29 Practice 1 8 a.m. ESPNU
Friday, July 29 Practice 2 11 a.m. ESPN2
Saturday, July 30 Practice 3 7 a.m. ESPN2
Saturday, July 30 Qualifying 10 a.m. ESPN2
Sunday, July 31 Race 9 a.m. ESPN

Formula 1 live stream for Hungarian Grand Prix

For those who don't have a cable or satellite subscription, five major OTT TV streaming options carry the ESPN networks — fuboTV, Sling, Hulu, YouTubeTV and DirecTV Stream. 

For those who do have a cable or satellite subscription but won't be in front of a TV, Formula 1 races in 2022 can be streamed live via phones, tablets and other devices on the ESPN app with authentication.

Formula 1 schedule 2022

There are 22 scheduled events on the F1 docket for 2022, one race shy of tying the mark for longest F1 calendar.

The season started in Bahrain on March 20 and will end with the customary Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, although a bit earlier than usual, in November. If the schedule stands, this will be the earliest end of the Formula 1 season since it ended on Nov. 4 in 2013.

Returning to the 2022 F1 slate are the Canadian and Japanese Grand Prix, both of which were canceled in 2021 amid fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. 

The calendar also holds the maiden voyage for the Miami Grand Prix, the first of two races in the United States in 2022, with the customary United States GP taking place in October.

The Russian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for Sept. 25, was canceled because of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Here's the latest schedule (subject to change):

Date Race Track Start time TV channel Winner (Team)
March 20 Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain International Circuit 11 a.m. ESPN Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
March 27 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Jeddah Street Circuit 1 p.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
April 10 Australian Grand Prix Albert Park Circuit 1 a.m. ESPN Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
April 24 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Imola Circuit 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
May 8 Miami Grand Prix Miami International Autodrome 3:30 p.m. ABC Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
May 22 Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 9 a.m. ESPN2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
May 29 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco 9 a.m. ESPN Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
June 12 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku City Circuit 7 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
June 19 Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gillies-Villenueve 2 p.m. ABC Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
July 3 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit 10 a.m. TBD Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
July 10 Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring 9 a.m. TBD Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
July 24 French Grand Prix Circuit Paul Ricard 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
July 31 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring 9 a.m. ESPN TBD
Aug. 28 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 9 a.m. TBD TBD
Sept. 4 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort 9 a.m. TBD TBD
Sept. 11 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale Monza 9 a.m. TBD TBD
Oct. 2 Singapore Grand Prix Marina Bay Street Circuit 8 a.m. TBD TBD
Oct. 9 Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka International Racing Course 1 a.m. TBD TBD
Oct. 23 United States Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas 3 p.m. TBD TBD
Oct. 30 Mexico City Grand Prix Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 4 p.m. TBD TBD
Nov. 13 Sao Paulo Grand Prix Interlagos Circuit 2 p.m. TBD TBD
Nov. 20 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina Circuit 8 a.m. TBD TBD

How to watch Formula 1 in Canada

  • TV channel: TSN (English); RDS (French)
  • Live stream: TSN Direct

For fans in Canada, TSN will carry the English-language telecast of races. For those looking for the French-language broadcast, RDS will have you covered.

Races can also be streamed via TSN's streaming service, TSN Direct.

How to watch Formula 1 in the United Kingdom

  • TV channel: Sky Sports F1
  • Live stream: NOW TV

Viewers in the United Kingdom can catch all F1 action on Sky Sports F1, the dedicated F1 channel. For viewers planning to live stream F1 in 2022, you can purchase a Sky Sports Pass on NOW TV.

How to watch Formula 1 in Australia

  • TV channel: Fox Sports; Channel 10
  • Live stream: Kayo

Fox Sports will carry all races in Australia, with Channel 10 broadcasting the Australian GP.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.