Radio and live text commentary on the Hungarian Grand Prix will be available on the Sport website
Lewis Hamilton defeated Valtteri Bottas to a Mercedes one-two victory over Red Bulls Max Verst -pen in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The seven-time champion then brushed off the boos from thousands of Dutch fans and dismissed Red Bull allegations of the art of playing as “silly”.
The session prepares a fascinating race in which the Mercedes drivers start on a different tire than Verst -pen.
And Hamilton described his first pole l – since the beginning of May as “amazing”.
The seven-time champion beat Bottas by 0.315 seconds with a time set on his first runs as none of the Mercedes drivers improved in the final l -s.
Verst -pen improved in his last run, but was 0.106 seconds behind Bottas.
The Dutchman starts the race on the soft tire, while Mercedes relies on the favored medium mixture.
Hamilton was booed by the crowd of Dutch fans in the stands as he gave his television interview after the meeting.
“I’ve never felt so great at booing,” said Hamilton. “If anything, it only drives me. So I don’t mind.
“It was an incredible qualifying l – on the last l -. Amazing teamwork from everyone this weekend who tried to keep developing the car. It was great to see everyone doing rallies together.
“It’s great that our team is locked out in the front row for the first time in a long time.”
Verst -pen, who starts eight points ahead of Hamilton in the championship, said: “We were a little behind the whole weekend and that was shown again in qualifying. Not what we wanted, but we’re still third and see what we “can do.”
Verst -pen’s fans booed Hamilton when he was interviewed afterwards
Bottas attacks booing fans
Bottas, whose second place on the grid gives Mercedes a great tactical advantage over Red Bull for the race, condemned the fans who whistled Hamilton.
“I don’t think that’s fair,” said the Finn.
“We’re here as athletes to do our best in the sport we love. Lewis finished a great l – and people should be asking themselves about this behavior. It’s not right and we don’t want to hear these things . “
Hamilton said: “People have a right. It’s sport. People act wild when it comes to sport and competition. I don’t take it to heart. I have to do something right to be at the front.”
Verst -pen added: “Of course that’s not true, but as drivers we shouldn’t let that kind of thing bother us. It’s not nice, but it shouldn’t affect any of us.”
Hamilton rejects allegations of gimmick
Verst -pen’s team-mate Sergio Perez finished fourth after failing to start a final l – in time.
That h -pened after the Mercedes drivers had driven a very slow l – ahead of the Red Bulls, led by Bottas, before their final rounds.
Verst -pen barely managed to finish his final l -, but Perez behind him failed.
“What has h -pened there?” he asked the team. “A bit of fun,” said his engineer.
But Hamilton denied claims that Mercedes did it on purpose.
“It’s so silly,” he said. “Everyone was slow. Aren’t you watching everyone else? Everyone was on a slow l -. Do you think I could have been faster and closer to Valtteri? It was no different than any other l -.”
“I didn’t play tactics. I don’t have to play tactics. I know what I’m doing in the car. I’m fast enough.”
Tire choice raises eyebrows
Red Bull’s tire choice came as a surprise to Verst -pen as the medium offers better pace and durability for a racing stint.
The soft offers better grip off the line – it can gain a driver up to five meters, Hamilton said – but a third behind both Mercedes reduces Verst -pen’s chances of attacking Hamilton on the first l -.
But Verst -pen said the team had decided they wanted to go on the soft tire for his final run in qualifying two and he had no choice but to finish his l – on the soft tire given the time he was previously on medium Tire had been set too low and he risked getting knocked out by midfielders on the soft.
“My l – time in the middle class would have been really tight for a top 10, so we decided to finish the l -,” he said.
“We talked about it and they decided they wanted to go on the switch. In the end it would have been safe to get through. But only in 0.03 seconds. It is what it is. We will find out tomorrow.”
Sainz crashed in the second part of qualifying
Behind the top 4, Pierre Gasly impressed with a fifth place for Alpha Tauri ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso and Aston Martins Sebastian Vettel completed the top 10.
Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz starts 15th after a fall in the last corner in the second part of qualifying.
And George Russell failed to get his Williams into the second part of qualifying for the first time this season, ending on a dis -pointed 17th.
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