Hungaroring (Hungary) (AFP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2nd in the world championship, signed his 101st pole position on Saturday and will start in front of his teammate Valtteri Bottas on Sunday to aim for a historic 100th victory in F1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix, 11th round of the season.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull), leader of the drivers' standings with eight points ahead of his rival Hamilton, will start from the second row on the starting grid at 3:00 p.m., accompanied by the other Red Bull Sergio Pérez.
After their first-round crash at Silverstone, which caused Verstappen to retire but did not prevent Hamilton from winning his 99th Grand Prix, at home in Great Britain, the two title contenders return to the arena one last. times before the summer break.
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The start will once again be crucial at the Hungaroring, a narrow circuit where overtaking is complicated.
Especially since the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers will start with different tires: medium for the former, soft for the latter.
"We are a little less good since the start of the weekend" in terms of pace, said Verstappen hot.
"This is not what we expected of course, but we are still well placed".
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Regarding the strategy, "we will see tomorrow if we made the right choice, especially depending on the weather if it's very hot. We know that the soft tires, of course, will not last as long as the mediums but it can offer opportunities "at the start, continued the 23-year-old leader.
Booed by thousands of Verstappen supporters from the Netherlands, Hamilton responded directly to the audience: "I never felt good with boos, but it feeds me," he smiled.
Behind the Mercedes and the Red Bulls, the Frenchman Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and the Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) will start in 5th and 6th positions.
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