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The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP grid will feature Lewis Hamilton in pole position after the Mercedes driver stunned everyone on Saturday (July 22). The qualifying session had a semblance of this feel-good factor as Lewis broke a very long wait for pole position.
He has also set up a first-lap showdown with Max Verstappen his former adversary but all of that is for another day.
Let's take a look at what we learned in the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP qualifying session where Lewis Hamilton secured his 104th pole position.
2023 F1 Hungarian GP Qualifying: What did we learn?
#1 Red Bull's qualifying weakness can become a liability
It would take a brave man to bet against Max Verstappen winning the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP. But the qualifying weakness of the Red Bull hurt the team on Saturday. It's not often in the history of the sport that we see a car that has such a massive divergence in terms of qualifying and race performance.
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In terms of race pace, Red Bull enjoys a healthy advantage over the field. In qualifying though, the advantage is much smaller. The gap has been nowhere close to what Max or Sergio pull out in races.
Multiple races have seen Max Verstappen pull out a very impressive performance to secure pole. The lap in Monaco or even in a few other races could have gone the other way if the driver was not peerless.
This weakness hurt Red Bull on Saturday and a compromised starting position could hurt the team on Sunday as well.
#2 Mercedes driver contrast further accentuates Lewis Hamilton's class
Lewis Hamilton will start the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP in pole position while teammate George Russell could not even make it beyond Q1. This was just another reminder of why Mercedes and Toto Wolff especially are willing to go the extra mile for Hamilton.
This was also a reminder of how George Russell hasn't really evolved into a driver that Mercedes could truly trust as Lewis Hamilton's successor.
Having said that, the day belonged to Hamilton, and his talent that does not seem to diminish with age. This pole lap was entirely on the seven-time champion and it was not a case of the driver just benefitting from a fast car.
#3 McLaren is now a serious frontrunner
In all the fanfare let's not forget that McLaren start the race in P3 and P4 which is also a sign of how big a turnaround that car has had with its major upgrade. This is also a sign that the car is now clearly a frontrunner and can at least challenge Red Bull in qualifying.
With the race pace from McLaren on Friday also in the ballpark, it won't be a surprise to see the team continue to be in contention this weekend. More importantly, the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP worked out for the upgraded car. It shows that the car is now a frontrunner and a constant threat for the podium.
#4 Ferrari and Aston Martin are fading away quickly
Ferrari and Aston Martin have qualified behind the Alfa Romeo of Guanyu Zhou for the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP. Let that sink in! Gone are the days when both these teams were a consistent threat at the front of the grid at least in qualifying.
To add to this, gone are the days when these two teams were vying to be the closest challenger to Red Bull.
At the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP, it was more than obvious that Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso could not have done much more. Both these teams need upgrades and fast because they're dropping like a stone in the pecking order.
#5 Guanyu Zhou serves a timely reminder with Alfa Romeo
A P5 starting position for the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP for Zhou is a stunning result. It. once again, provides a timely reminder of what he can do when he is in form.
One of the major criticisms faced by the Chinese driver has never been his talent but about his continued lack of consistency in the car.
Once in a while, he will pull out a spectacular result that would show everyone what he can do. But then that would follow multiple race weekends where he's just nowhere.
Let's hope the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP qualifying session proves to be the turning point as he starts to become even more consistent.
