George Russell Takes Pole Position at the Hungarian GP

George Russell, the British driver of Mercedes, won Saturday's qualifying session of the 37th Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, east of Budapest and will start Sunday's race from the front grid position. For the 24-year-old, it is the first pole position of his career.

Next to Russell on the starting grid will be Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. of Spain, with third place going to team-mate Charles Leclerc of Monaco.

Defending World Champion and current overall leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished 10th in qualifying, partly due to a technical problem, with Russell’s team-mate and compatriot, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, seventh.

Sainz led almost all of the final pole position stage thanks to a superb fast lap, and the Spaniard even improved his time as the race approached the finish. But noone expected Russell to be faster than the Ferrari driver in the final moments, and the Briton surprised everyone by taking his first career pole position.

Last year's Hungaroring winner Esteban Ocon (Alpine) was fifth, while teammate Fernando Alonso, who celebrated his 41st birthday on Friday, was sixth.