F1 2016: Rosberg storms to pole amidst tricky conditions in Hungary

Nico Rosberg's last minute charge see him clinch pole position in the drama filled qualifying of the Hungarian GP. 

Nico Rosberg put a flying lap in the dying seconds of the Q3 to snatch pole position from Lewis Hamilton in the HungarianGP. Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull Racing finished third in the qualifying session behind the Mercedes duo.

With rain gods throwing spanner in the works during Q1 and Q2, today’s qualifying session was one of the longest in history, taking almost two hours to end. Q1 was delayed by almost 20 minutes and started in wet conditions. The qualifying session was constantly interrupted by the rain, causing 3 crashes and 4 red-flags in the first session alone. The track started drying up in the Q2, allowing drivers to opt for the intermediate set of tyres in early runs before finally switching to slicks in the closing laps. Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing topped the Q2 ahead of Rosberg, while Hamilton barely made it to Q3 by finishing in 10^th position.

By the time Q3 started, the track had completely dried up, which meant drivers were now putting considerably faster times. Hamilton managed to set early pace, followed closely by his teammate, Rosberg. In the closing laps it was again between the two Mercedes. Hamilton looked all set to improve his best lap time of the session in the final run, but his progress came to a halt when Fernando Alonso spun his Honda at Turn 8, thereby, forcing Hamilton to back off under yellow flags.

While all the other drivers started slowing down after the incident, Rosberg was still charging his way through the field and posted a scorching lap time of 1’19.965 – almost two-tenths quicker than his teammate - and took the pole position. Most of the teams, especially Red Bull was seemingly disappointed by that since they believe that Rosberg did not back off under yellow flags, and that it needs to be investigated.

Behind the two Mercedes are the two Red Bulls of Ricciardo and Verstappen in 3^rd and 4^th position. Sebastien Vettel of Ferrari will be placed on row three in 5^th and will be joined by Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso. Row 4 will have the two Hondas placed together led by Fernando Alonso on 7^th and Jenson Button on 8^th spot. Nico Hulkenberg of Force India starts 9^th and Valtteri Bottas will be 10^th on the grid in the race tomorrow. Kimi Raikkonen is out of top 10 and will start 14^th since he could not graduate to Q3 from Q2.

2016 F1 Hungarian GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING (23/07/2016)

Hungaroring – 4.381KM, 14 TURNS

*Eliminated in Q1

**Eliminated in Q2