Max Verstappen will start on pole position for Saturday’s sprint race after beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to top spot by just 0.011 seconds.

Verstappen qualified fastest here on Friday for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but he will line up in sixth after serving a grid penalty for a gearbox change.

But for the 15-lap dash in the Ardennes, the Red Bull driver begins from the front after edging out the impressive Piastri in wet-dry conditions at Spa-Francorchamps.

Carlos Sainz finished third, just 0.025sec adrift of Verstappen, with Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc fourth.

Lando Norris took fifth for McLaren, while Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who appeared to trip over one another in the closing moments, only seventh and 10th respectively for Mercedes.

“It was difficult, but we stayed calm,” said Verstappen. “The gap to second was not as big as yesterday, but there was no need to risk it all.

“My second sector was a bit careful – turns eight and nine were very slippery so I left a bit of time on the table – but I am still on pole and that is what counts.

“Let’s see if it rains in the afternoon. I will try to have a clean start and have good vision and that is very important when it is wet.”

The start of qualifying was delayed following heavy rainfall in the area, but the sun suddenly broke through allowing the action to get under way 35 minutes later than advertised.

The final running took place on an almost dry track and the times tumbled as grip improved and the clock ticked down.

Rookie Piastri, 22, looked to have done enough to take the spoils when he crossed the line fastest, only for Verstappen to steal his thunder

“There wasn’t much left in that lap,” said Piastri over the radio. “Probably 11 milliseconds.”

Verstappen is on course to gallop to his third world championship in as many years and the Dutch driver will be expected to extend his 110-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez later on Saturday, with the Mexican only eighth on the grid.

Eight points are awarded for the winner of the 15-lap dash, with a sliding scale down to to eighth place.

The result of Saturday’s sprint, which could take place in the wet with more rain forecast, has no bearing on Sunday’s 44-lap main event.

Lance Stroll’s gamble to switch from wet rubber to slicks with a couple minutes of Q2 remaining backfired as he crashed out.

The Canadian driver lost control of his Aston Martin through the left-hand ninth corner, skidding through the gravel and into the tyre barrier.

The front of Stroll’s machine was heavily damaged in the accident and the running was suspended.

His crash meant team-mate Fernando Alonso, who turned 42 on Saturday, did not post a time, leaving him a disappointing 15th on the grid.

Saturday’s race is due to get under way at 5:05pm local time (4:05pm BST).

Max Verstappen vowed to kiss and make up with his race engineer following their X-rated row in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying.

Verstappen finished fastest in a wet-dry session at Spa-Francorchamps, but he will start Sunday’s 44-lap race from sixth following a gearbox penalty.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is promoted to pole position, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez second. Lewis Hamilton, on pole a week ago in Hungary, will line up in third.

Verstappen made it into Q3 – the final phase of qualifying – by the skin of his teeth and vented his anger at long-serving race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, known as GP, following the close-call.

“I should have just f****** pushed two laps in a row like I said,” said Verstappen, who sneaked through in 10th place.

“But you are through, Max,” replied Lambiase.

“I don’t give a f*** that we are P10, mate. It is just s*** execution,” came Verstappen’s fiery response.

Lambiase snapped back: “OK, and then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down?”

A surly Lambiase added: “But you tell me what you want to do in Q3 and we’ll do it. Tyre sets, fuel, run plan.”

After returning to finish eighth tenths clear of Leclerc, Verstappen issued an apology.

“Sorry to GP for being such on the rant,” he said over the radio.

Lambiase replied: “Slowly getting used to it, Max.”

Speaking afterwards, Verstappen added: “It happens sometimes. Most of it is blocked off.

“We are mates. We can get quite emotional, quite vocal. We sort it out afterwards.”

Verstappen’s grid drop for exceeding the allocated number of four gearboxes will provide his rivals with forlorn hope they can end his seven-race winning streak.

However, the Dutchman, a winner of nine of the 11 rounds so far this season, started this race from 14th last year owing to engine penalties and still took the victory in his all-conquering Red Bull machine.

For Hamilton, the seven-time world champion faced a post-qualifying investigation from the stewards after he ran off the circuit at Eau Rouge before re-joining in front of team-mate George Russell in Q2.

Russell was forced to slow down to avoid making contact with the sister Mercedes. Race control noted the incident and confirmed they would investigate.

Hamilton finished nine tenths slower than Verstappen, with Russell even further back in eighth, 0.8sec adrift of his team-mate.

“It was definitely very hectic because it was consistently drying up,” said Hamilton after the running started on a wet track.

“It was difficult to see with the spray. I was head down, just maximining as much as I could.

“At the end, I was still a good chunk off Max. But I am really happy with the result I’ve got.”

Carlos Sainz qualified fifth for Ferrari, one spot ahead of Oscar Piastri, with Lando Norris seventh in the other McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo finished a commendable 13th on his F1 comeback but the Australian will line up from the penultimate spot on the grid.

Ricciardo temporarily hauled his AlphaTauri through to Q2 only to see his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.

“F***, I am sorry,” said Ricciardo when informed of the chalked-off lap. “I just lost it through Turn 3. I am sorry.”

Spa-Francorchamps is hosting the sport’s third sprint event of the year with a shortened race on Saturday to come before Sunday’s main event – the concluding round ahead of the sport’s summer shutdown.

Max Verstappen took pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix despite an X-rated radio row with his race engineer.

Verstappen was embroiled in a squabble with Gianpiero Lambiase after he only just made it through to Q3 during a wet-dry session at Spa-Francorchamps.

But the championship leader regained his composure at the business end of qualifying to demolish the opposition, finishing eight tenths clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with Sergio Perez third in the other Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth.

However, Verstappen will only start Sunday’s race from sixth position as he serves a five-place grid drop for exceeding his gearbox allocation.

Verstappen made it into the final phase by the skin of his teeth in 10th place and then vented his anger at his long-serving engineer.

Verstappen accused his team of “s*** execution”, claiming he should have pushed harder on an earlier lap after the field switched from wet to dry rubber.

“I don’t give a f*** that we are P10, mate”, he yelled over the radio.

Lambiase snapped back: “OK, and then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down?”

A surly Lambiase added: “But you tell me what you want to do in Q3 and we’ll do it. Tyre sets, fuel, run plan.”

But after taking pole, Verstappen, 110 points clear at the standings and on a run of seven-consecutive wins in his all-conquering Red Bull machine, said over the radio: “Sorry to GP for being such on the rant.”

Lambiase replied: “Slowly getting used to it, Max.”

Hamilton secured pole a week ago in Hungary, but he is facing an investigation from the stewards after he ran off the circuit at Eau Rouge before re-joining in front of team-mate George Russell in Q2.

Russell was forced to slow down to avoid making contact with the sister Mercedes. Race control noted the incident before confirming they would investigate.

It was an underwhelming afternoon for the Silver Arrows with Hamilton nine tenths slower than Verstappen, and Russell ever further back in eighth, 0.8sec adrift of his team-mate. Lando Norris finished seventh, a spot behind Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified a commendable 13th on his return a week ago, but the Australia will line up from the penultimate spot on the grid on Sunday.

Ricciardo temporarily hauled his AlphaTauri through to Q2 only to see his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.

“F***, I am sorry,” said Ricciardo when informed of the bad news. “I just lost it through Turn 3. I am sorry.”

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz topped a rain-hit practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix.

With persistent rain falling at Spa-Francorchamps, not one driver completed more than eight laps.

Sainz headed the timing charts, half-a-second clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with team-mate Lando Norris third.

Max Verstappen, who is set to serve a five-place grid penalty following a gearbox change, was among five of the 20-strong field who did not complete a timed lap.

Qualifying is due to take place at 5pm local time (4pm BST), but the running is under threat given the bad weather and poor visibility generated by the spray in the Ardennes.

Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, said their priority is to ensure qualifying for Sunday’s main event takes place with other sessions throughout the weekend – including Saturday’s sprint schedule – likely to be sacrificed.

Heavy rain is expected to continue on Friday, and into Saturday with conditions forecast to improve on Sunday. One option is to move qualifying to Sunday morning, as the FIA did in Japan in 2019 when Typhoon Hagibis struck.

If qualifying can not take place, the FIA confirmed the grid for Sunday’s main event will be set by championship order.

Conditions worsened through Friday’s one-hour session with Logan Sargeant crashing out at the midway stage.

The Williams rookie lost control of his car under braking for Les Combes, heading straight into the barrier. The American was unharmed in the accident but the red flags were deployed to recover his stricken machine.

Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu also grazed the barrier after he ran through the gravel.

The FIA’s decision whether or not to run in the wet conditions will be heightened following the death of 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month.

The Dutch teenager was killed after a crash in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) race on July 1.

Max Verstappen will not start Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix from pole position with the world champion set to serve a five-place grid penalty.

Verstappen, 110 points clear at the top of the standings, is due to take on his fifth gearbox, one more than he is permitted.

It means the 25-year-old will begin the grand prix on Sunday no higher than sixth in something of a boost to his forlorn rivals.

However, the Dutchman started the race from 14th last year owing to engine penalties and still took the win in his dominant Red Bull machine.

Verstappen has won the last seven races, nine of the 11 rounds staged so far this season, and is on course to wrap up a hat-trick of titles.

At last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen’s Red Bull team set a new F1 record of 12 consecutive wins.

Qualifying for Sunday’s race is due to take place at 5pm local time (4pm BST) on Friday. A sprint race will be staged at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday, but Verstappen’s penalty will apply only to the main event.

George Russell has raised the prospect of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix being cancelled amid poor weather.

Heavy rain fell over the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on Thursday, with the grizzly weather expected to continue throughout the weekend.

Although the forecast is better for Sunday’s Grand Prix, the weather is notoriously difficult to predict in the Ardennes and there is a fear in the paddock that the weekend’s running – which features a sprint race on Saturday – could be heavily disrupted.

Indeed, it is understood Formula One are already looking into potential changes to the timetable.

The FIA’s decision to run in the wet conditions will be heightened following the death of 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month.

The Dutch teenager was killed after a crash in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) race on July 1.

“Obviously to have a race cancelled is not perfect for anybody, but we don’t want to see another huge incident that we have just seen,” said Russell, 25, director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.

“The conditions are safe and suitable enough to drive for one Formula One car. But when you have got 20 cars on track at once, anybody from third position backwards literally cannot see 20, 30, 40 metres ahead of them.

“We have no visibility whatsoever. To give it some perspective, it is like driving down the motorway in pouring rain, and turning your windscreen wipers off. That is how it feels in the cockpit.

“It was only a matter of time before the incident in the FRECA race happened. Drivers do not go flat out on the straight because they cannot see, someone gets rear-ended, and then there is a car in the middle of the track.

“I also fear a little bit for the junior categories. I truly think Formula Three should not have 30 cars out there at one time at any point, even in dry conditions. I feel like it is a matter of time before a big incident happens there, too.”

In 2021, the race here was abandoned after just two laps behind the safety car because of torrential rain, and Mercedes’ Russell continued: “It was the correct decision to call off the race.

“The FIA has to be bold with its decisions when it comes to safety and when it comes to visibility.

“We want to race, everybody wants to race, but when you go down that straight at over 200mph and you can’t see in front of you, there will be huge incidents, so they have got a big responsibility.”

Van ‘t Hoff died following a multiple car pile-up on the exit of the notorious Eau Rouge corner and leading into the Kemmel Straight.

In the spray, Van ‘t Hoff was tagged from behind, rebounding off the wall, and into the middle of the circuit where he was hit at high speed by another driver.

Frenchman Anthoine Hubert was killed four years ago in an F2 race following a similar incident, albeit in the dry, at a circuit which has now claimed 49 lives.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said: “It is not something I ever think of. As a driver, you can’t let it enter your mind, but you have to trust in what the FIA do.

“We wouldn’t be here if they didn’t think it would be safe. They have done such incredible work over the past few decades and I trust them to make the right decisions moving forwards.”

Jamaican rally cross sensation Fraser McConnell praised the Caribbean's young cadre of Karters, who participated in the third Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) at the Palisadoes International Raceway from July 21 to 23.

The Rally Cross champion and driver for Lewis Hamilton’s X44 Vida Carbon Racing, who was third among the seniors, was impressed with the high level of competition.

"It's good to see Jamaica hosting this competition for the first time, and even better to see the high level of talent at all levels," he said.

After three days of competition, the lone female among the juniors, Trinidad & Tobago's 13-year-old Naomi Jade Garcia, emerged as the new Caribbean Junior Karting Champion, with Jamaica's Zander Williams and Matthew Warmington in second and third, respectively.

"I had a great time watching the young talent from across the region. Congratulations to Naomi Garcia, we need more diversity in the sport at all levels, and she was pretty solid all weekend!" said McConnell.

CJKAT is the Caribbean's version of the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy, the first rung on the ladder of the FIA's single-seater path to F1. CJKAT allows more opportunities for Caribbean hopefuls to race. The regional series caters for a more comprehensive age range than in Europe, where the limits are 12 to 14 years.

"Kudos to the FIA and the Jamaica Karting Association for partnering with the Barbados Motoring Federation for this event. It's a reminder of the quality the Caribbean continues to produce in motorsports, and I look forward to coming back time and time again because this is where it started for me, and I'm honoured now to be one of the flagbearers for the sport." McConnell added.

The 24-year-old McConnell is the most competitively successful Jamaican driver in the history of international rallycross racing—with a championship victory in 2019, a supercar victory in 2021, and a fourth-round win in the 2022 season.

He occupies the top spot in NitroCross 2023/24 after winning the season opener in June. He returns to competition in Salt Lake City, Utah, for second-leg action from August 18-to-19.

Jamaican Formula Woman driver Sara Misir locked eyes with a competitor that looked too familiar. Among the thirteen karters, who participated in the third Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) was a lone female, Trinidad and Tobago's Naomi Jade Garcia.

After three days of competition between July 21 and 23, at the Palisadoes International Raceway, the 14-year-old finished ahead of the pack. Garcia emerged as the new Caribbean Junior Karting Champion, with Jamaica's Zander Williams and Matthew Warmington, finishing second and third, respectively.

When asked how pleased she was to see Garcia atop the podium, Misir, the Caribbean's only Formula Woman driver, Misir, welcomed the fearless personality of a young female in what is deemed, a male-dominated sport.

"She has been incredible all weekend. So focused, fearless and full of personality on the track. It was great seeing her outclass the competition and hoisting the trophy,” Misir said.

Misir also had a one-on-one with Garcia after the victory, as she imparted knowledge to the promising female prospect.

"I urged her to stay focused as we need more women and girls in motorsports. The level of physicality required to get to the very top of the sport is a pretty steep curve. Still, with her level of will and determination, and of course, given more opportunities to compete at a high level, anything is possible,” she reasoned.

CJKAT is the Caribbean's version of the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy, the first rung on the ladder of the FIA's single-seater path to Formula One. CJKAT allows more opportunities for Caribbean hopefuls to race. The regional series caters for a more comprehensive age range than in Europe, where the limits are 12 to 14 years.

Misir, 25, is the Caribbean's only competitive female race car driver. She competed as part of the Formula Woman Team for McLaren Customer Racing in the British GT Cup Championship in races at Snetterton, Oulton Park and Silverstone.

Max Verstappen’s Hungarian Grand Prix victory gave his Red Bull team a record 12th successive Formula One race win.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the dominant Dutchman and his team compare to the greats of the grid.

Prost and Senna’s record falls

Verstappen has won nine of this season’s 11 races, with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two.

Verstappen also won last season’s final race and not since the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988 has a single team dominated to such an extent.

That season began in Brazil and while Senna was disqualified from his home race for an illegal car change, Prost took the chequered flag.

Senna won in San Marino and he and Prost shared the next four races equally before Prost recorded a home win in the French Grand Prix.

Four straight victories for Senna followed before Ferrari’s Gerhard Berger broke the streak in Italy, the only race all season not won by McLaren as they and Senna won a championship double with Prost close behind in second in the drivers’ standings.

That is the case for Verstappen and Perez this season as well, albeit with Verstappen over 100 points clear of his team-mate.

Verstappen added Bahrain and Australia to last season’s success in Abu Dhabi, alternating at the start of the season with Perez’s wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan before taking sole control.

Mercedes had three separate runs of 10 successive wins during Lewis Hamilton’s period of dominance, with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari team also hitting double figures in 2002.

Magnificent seven

Since the start of May, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian, British and now Hungarian Grands Prix to equal the second-longest winning run for an individual driver.

Only Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine straight wins in 2013 remains for him to chase – victory in the next two races would see him equal that mark in front of his adoring home fans at August 27’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.

Alberto Ascari has a claim to matching Vettel. The Italian won the last six races of the 1952 season and the Argentine Grand Prix at the start of 1953 before not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship. He went on to win the Dutch and Belgian GPs on his next two starts.

Michael Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season.

Schumacher also had a run of six across the 2000 and 2001 seasons while Hamilton’s longest run is five wins, as was Verstappen’s before his current streak.

He is on track to be the first driver ever to win over 80 per cent of races in a season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – while he has won over 93 per cent of the maximum points available with 281 of a possible 302 so far.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen’s dominance of the sport is so one-sided that he is making the rest of the grid look like they are racing in a junior category.

Verstappen took his ninth win of the season, extending Red Bull’s unbeaten streak to 11 from 11 this year with just one race remaining before the summer break.

The Dutchman, now a staggering 110 points clear in the championship, finished more than half-a-minute clear of his rivals following another supreme showing in his supreme Red Bull machine.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was runner-up – scoring consecutive podium finishes for the first time in his career – with pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton only fourth and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell sixth.

“It was like a bunch of Formula Two cars against a Formula One car,” said Wolff.

“In the F2 gang, our car was quick. The F1 car won by 33 seconds.

“We had the second quickest car today, and obviously we can talk it up and say we could have been second, but that’s irrelevant because you have a car that finished 39 seconds ahead [of Hamilton], and was probably cruising a lot of the time.

“We are going to fight back and win races and championships, but we saw the pace Max had, and that’s the bitter reality.

“But it’s a meritocracy, and as long as you’re moving within the regulations, then we need to acknowledge Red Bull has just done a better job.”

Hamilton has now gone 34 appearances without a victory – the longest streak of his career – while Verstappen has triumphed 24 times during the same period, moving him to 44 career wins.

Verstappen’s Red Bull set a new record of 12 consecutive wins on Sunday, with Mercedes’ unprecedented 19 victories in a single campaign under threat.

At the midway stage of this 22-round campaign, the world champions also remain on course to become the first team to complete the perfect season.

However, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps – which includes a sprint race and the possibility of rain – Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was keen to guard against complacency.

Horner said: “How long can we keep this winning run going? Who knows?

“We’ve got another challenge next weekend, a sprint race, with the variable conditions of Spa. Anything can happen, so we’re really just taking it pretty much one event at a time.”

Max Verstappen said it would be “terrible” to remain stuck on the same number of career wins as Lewis Hamilton’s car number following his crushing triumph at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The all-conquering Dutchman beat pole-sitter Hamilton to the opening bend at the Hungaroring before going on to lead every lap and claim his seventh successive win and 44th of his career.

“Hopefully I don’t stay on 44 for too long,” joked Verstappen. “That would be terrible I need to get to 45 quickly.”

The evidence of the season so far would suggest Verstappen’s wait will last only a week with Spa-Francorchamps the venue for the final round before the summer break of this most one-sided of campaigns.

Indeed, Red Bull will head into next Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix unbeaten from the opening 11 rounds of 22, setting a new record on Sunday with their 12th consecutive win.

The perfect dozen includes the final round of last season in Abu Dhabi, eclipsing McLaren’s 11 in a row in 1988 when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were at the wheel.

“Twelve wins in a row is just incredible,” added Verstappen, who is now 110 points clear at the summit of the world championship on his unstoppable march towards a hat-trick of titles.

“What we’ve been doing for the last two years has been unbelievable. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time. We always want to do better but days like this are just perfect.”

Verstappen, 25, crossed the line more than half-a-minute clear of runner-up Lando Norris to record his ninth win of the season and retain Red Bull’s chance of becoming the first team in F1 history to complete a perfect campaign.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “As a young kid I remember watching Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna under the incredible leadership of Ron Dennis achieve that feat (11 wins in a row) and to think we have bettered that is something all the team in Budapest and back in Milton Keynes have worked so hard for and means so much.

“Max is a driver totally at one with himself in the car and with total confidence and trust in the team. We are witnessing a sportsman at the top of his game and he is a joy to work with.

“Max is a modest guy and he is uncomfortable with the plaudits he is given, but he deserves all the credit he is getting at the moment.”

Lewis Hamilton admitted he has not been driving at his best for over a year after a poor start at the Hungarian Grand Prix allowed Max Verstappen to rack up a record-breaking victory.

Verstappen gazumped pole-sitter Hamilton on the downhill run to the opening corner at the Hungaroring before racing off into the distance to score his seventh successive victory of this most one-sided of Formula One seasons.

Hamilton finished only fourth after both McLaren drivers also moved ahead of him inside the first two bends of Sunday’s 70-lap race.

Lando Norris was runner-up to Verstappen for the second consecutive race, 33.7 seconds behind the dominant Dutchman, while Sergio Perez fought back from ninth to third with Oscar Piastri crossing the line in fifth.

Verstappen’s ninth win from the 11 rounds so far sees him move 110 points clear of Perez heading into next weekend’s concluding round before the summer break in Belgium. The Dutchman’s Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, setting a new F1 record with their 12th consecutive win.

For Hamilton, he is now 34 appearances without a victory – the longest streak of his career.

“I have not been at my best for over a year,” said Hamilton who has not won since he was denied a record eighth world title at the concluding round in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

Across the same period, Verstappen – the man who beat him to the title on that controversial night in the desert – has triumphed 24 times.

But the seven-time world champion added: “I am not disappointed. It was obvious that we do not have the quickest car. Max got a better start than me, I got a bit of wheelspin, and I was a bit compromised after that.

“I am really proud of myself and the job we did to get pole and outperform the world champion and the other two McLaren cars that are quicker than us. But today is just a reality check. The reality is that we are not fast enough.

“I was told in the strategy meeting this morning that I would be five tenths a lap slower than the Red Bull so the fight is not with Max but hopefully that we would be able to fight the McLarens. But then the McLaren was also too quick for us.”

Hamilton’s initial reaction to the lights turning green was fine enough, but he lacked traction in the next phase, with Verstappen moving alongside the Mercedes and then ahead under braking for the first corner.

Forced wide by Verstappen, Hamilton then lost two further positions. First to Piastri at the same right-hander, before Norris also muscled his way ahead around the outside of the next bend. Hamilton had a nibble back at his countryman on the long run up to Turn 4 but Norris held firm.

A contrite Hamilton was straight on the radio. “Sorry about that, guys,” he said.

“Don’t sweat about it, Lewis,” came the reassuring response from Hamilton’s ever-upbeat race engineer, Peter Bonnington.

As Verstappen did what Verstappen does and controlled the race to perfection, Hamilton appeared rattled.

He questioned if his Mercedes team had turned down his engine after falling a dozen seconds back from Verstappen by the time he stopped for fresh rubber on lap 16.

He then expressed his exasperation at being cast more than 10 seconds behind third-placed Piastri, the Australian dropping behind Norris at the first round of stops.

“Where am I losing all the time?” he asked, adding: “It is just the car is slow.”

Bonnington then called on Hamilton to pick up the pace. But the despondent 38-year-old replied: “This is as fast as it goes, mate. That is what I have been saying.”

When he finally stopped for rubber for a second time with 20 laps to run, Hamilton dropped to fifth.

He wiped out a six-second deficit to Piastri inside a handful of laps, and at the start of lap 57 he breezed past the McLaren man at the first corner, before taking the chequered flag 39 seconds behind the all-conquering Verstappen.

“The Red Bull car is phenomenal,” added an envious Hamilton.

The Briton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell started 18th and finished sixth, benefiting from a five-second penalty to Charles Leclerc who sped in the pit lane. Daniel Ricciardo was a commendable 13th on his first race back.

Lewis Hamilton apologised to Mercedes after a poor start at the Hungarian Grand Prix allowed Max Verstappen to rack up another win.

Verstappen gazumped pole-sitter Hamilton on the downhill run to the opening corner at the Hungaroring before racing off into the distance to score his seventh successive victory of this most one-sided of Formula One seasons.

Hamilton finished a disappointing fourth after both McLaren drivers also moved ahead of him inside the first two bends of Sunday’s 70-lap race.

Lando Norris was runner-up to Verstappen for the second consecutive race, 33.7 seconds behind the dominant Dutchman, while Sergio Perez fought back from ninth to third with Oscar Piastri crossing the line in fifth.

Verstappen’s ninth win from the 11 rounds so far, and 18th from his last 22 outings, sees him extend his championship lead to three figures, moving 110 points clear of Perez, heading into next weekend’s concluding round before the summer break in Belgium. Red Bull remain unbeaten this season, setting a new Formula One record with their 12th consecutive win in a row.

Twenty-four hours after he ended a 595-day wait for pole position, Hamilton’s challenge to end a losing streak which now stands at 34 races was over after a few hundred metres.

Hamilton’s initial reaction to the lights turning green was fine, but he struggled for traction in the next phase, with Verstappen moving alongside the Mercedes and then ahead under braking for the first right-hander.

Hamilton, sharing the front row with Verstappen for the first time since he was denied a record eighth world title in the desert, could do nothing to prevent Verstappen barging his way through.

Forced wide by Verstappen, Hamilton then lost two further positions. First to Piastri at the same right-hander, before Norris also muscled his way ahead of the seven-time world champion around the outside of the next bend. Hamilton had a nibble back at his countryman on the long run up to Turn 4 but Norris held firm.

A contrite Hamilton was straight on the radio. “Sorry about that, guys,” he said. “Don’t sweat about it, Lewis,” came the reply from Hamilton’s ever-upbeat race engineer, Peter Bonnington. “It is going to be a long race.”

Further back, and a slow-starting Zhou Guanyu mimicked a ten-pin bowling ball when he bumped into the returning Daniel Ricciardo, who hit Esteban Ocon, who in turn collided with Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly. Zhou was given a five-second penalty as both Alpines were unable to continue on a disastrous afternoon for the French team.

As Verstappen did what Verstappen does and controlled the race to perfection, Hamilton was struggling for speed. He questioned if his Mercedes team had turned down his engine after falling a dozen seconds back from Verstappen by the time he stopped for fresh rubber on lap 16.

He then expressed his exasperation at being cast more than 10 seconds behind third-placed Piastri, the Australian dropping behind team-mate Norris at the first round of stops.

“Where am I losing all the time?” he asked, adding: “It is just the car is slow.”

Perez started ninth following another below-par qualifying, but by lap 40 he was crawling all over the back of Hamilton’s Mercedes. To his credit, the Briton held off Perez before the Red Bull man dived into the pits.

Bonnington called on Hamilton to pick up the pace. But the despondent 38-year-old replied: “This is as fast as it goes, mate. That is what I have been saying.”

When he finally stopped for rubber for a second time with 20 laps to run, Hamilton dropped to fifth, with Perez now running in third after fighting his way past Piastri.

Piastri was suddenly struggling for speed and Hamilton wiped out a six-second deficit to the Australian inside a handful of laps and at the start of 57 he breezed past the McLaren man at the first corner.

Hamilton set about hunting down Perez, wiping out significant chunks of time in the closing laps, without getting close enough to challenge, crossing the line 1.5 seconds back from the Mexican and 39 behind Verstappen.

Charles Leclerc finished sixth while George Russell, who started 18th, passed Carlos Sainz for seventh with five laps remaining. The Briton was then bumped up one place after Leclerc was penalised five seconds for speeding in the pit lane.

On his first race back in the saddle after being dumped by McLaren at the end of last season, Ricciardo – despite slipping to last after Zhou’s first-corner antics – finished a commendable 13th in his AlphaTauri.

Lewis Hamilton said he held his breath for the 76.6 seconds it took him to capture his first pole position in 595 days for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion held off Red Bull foe Max Verstappen by just three thousandths of a second as he danced his Mercedes to top spot in an exhilarating qualifying session at the Hungaroring.

Lando Norris finished third following another impressive afternoon for the rising McLaren star, one spot ahead of his team-mate Oscar Piastri. George Russell managed only 18th on a day to forget for the Mercedes man.

Hamilton’s one-lap triumph here – described as a work of art by his old rival Nico Rosberg – is his first since the penultimate fixture of the contentious 2021 season in Saudi Arabia, 33 races ago.

The following round in Abu Dhabi – where Hamilton was denied a record eighth world title by Michael Masi’s controversial refereeing – marked the last time he started a race from the front row. Verstappen began from pole on that contentious evening in the desert. On Sunday, it will be Hamilton’s turn.

Hamilton roared with delight over the team radio before holding his head in his hands and then saluting the raucous crowd as he stood on top of the front-right tyre of the Mercedes machine which carried him to his ninth pole in Hungary and 104th in all. A cursory handshake for Verstappen followed.

“I’ve lost my voice from shouting so much in the car,” said Hamilton, moments after stepping out of his cockpit.

In the official press conference reserved for the top-three drivers, Hamilton added: “I forgot what it feels like to sit in this spot. He (Verstappen) has been hogging it for a while.

“I don’t think I breathed for the whole lap, I held my breath. I was so out of breath at the end. It is an extraordinary feeling.

“I have not been here for such a long time. Even with the success I have had before, and this is my 104th pole, it feels like the first. It is hard to explain how special it feels.”

Hamilton trailed Verstappen by 0.126 sec prior to the concluding runs. But he usurped the Dutch driver, who failed to improve on his last lap, with his final throw of the dice. He was the last man to cross the line.

“I witnessed those special moments and the days he used to have, and today was one of those,” said Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the 2016 title.

“That lap is like perfection, it is art. Only Lewis Hamilton can do that.”

Hamilton has won more times in Hungary than anybody else, and claimed his first victory in Mercedes colours at this venue a decade ago.

“Last year we were nowhere,” said Hamilton. “I have always had belief that if we apply ourselves the right way we would get there, and it was just a question of how long that would be?

“But we started this season with the twin sister or twin brother of the previous year’s car. It felt identical and that was worrying.

“When you lose that confidence you shed a lot of time. I had no confidence in the car. It was so nervous, and it felt like I was treading on eggshells.

“I started out this season with very little confidence, but bit-by-bit I got the thing on the right tracks, so the confidence has finally come back.

“We have been on this journey of undoing the wrong decisions we have taken and it has taken far longer than we hoped, but we are starting to see those benefits.”

Converting his 104th pole into his 104th victory will not be an easy task for Hamilton. Verstappen has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and his Red Bull team are unbeaten this season.

“We tend to have decent race pace,” concluded Hamilton. “Max’s race pace yesterday in practice was quite extraordinary. They were quicker than us.

“But if there is a way to hold position then maybe there is a fighting chance for us. I am as keen as I am to win tomorrow as I did for my first win in Montreal in 2007.”

Lewis Hamilton raised the prospect of springing a surprise pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix after finishing fastest in final practice.

The seven-time world champion ended the concluding one-hour running before qualifying at the Hungaroring 0.250 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Verstappen, who has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and six in succession, complained about the handling of his Red Bull.

“There is no f****** grip,” said the frustrated two-time world champion over the radio.

Sergio Perez took third spot in the other Red Bull, 0.263 sec adrift of Hamilton, with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren driver Lando Norris fourth and fifth respectively. Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell finished sixth three tenths back.

Hamilton only finished 16th on Friday, describing his machine as “at its worst”. But the 38-year-old, who has won more times at the Hungaroring than anybody else and captured his first victory in Mercedes colours at this venue a decade ago, led the way on Saturday to suggest he might be a contender heading into the remainder of the weekend.

Elsewhere, Daniel Ricciardo, back on the grid as a replacement for Nyck De Vries, clocked the 18th quickest time. His new AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was 20th and last.

Qualifying for Sunday’s 70-lap race starts at 4pm local time (3pm BST).