F1 Pundit applauds Charles Leclerc for his stunning lap: "You outdrove the rest of the competition in maybe a car that didn't deserve to be on pole"

Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson was full of praise for Charles Leclerc after the latter's incredible qualifying lap to grab pole position at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix. Davidson told the Monegasque that he outdrove all the other drivers on the grid on Saturday, August 2, in a Ferrari that should not have been on pole.

Charles Leclerc managed to surprise just about every spectator when he popped up into pole position at the Hungaroring. The McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, were touted as the favorites for the top spot, but it was the Ferrari driver who managed to edge his competitors out, who were both within 0.050 seconds behind.

After the session, Leclerc joined Anthony Davidson on Sky's coverage of the race to break down his final lap in Q3, which eventually secured his first pole position in 2025. After this, Davidson took the opportunity to shower the 27-year-old with praise.

"Sometimes things happen in racing cars that guys like me try to analyze it and even other drivers can't explain it. You're being modest, that was something special," said Davidson. [via Sky Sports] "For me, you outdrove the rest of the competition in maybe a car that didn't deserve to be on pole."

Leclerc's pole position at the Hungaroring wasn't just his first of the season but also Ferrari's. Now, the driver will be hoping to deliver a first win of the season for the Italian team on Sunday.

This will surely be an incredibly difficult task, given the pace of the McLaren cars that start P2 and P3. But given the Hungaroring's characteristics and history, overtaking is a truly difficult task. 70 laps can still prove to be a long time to keep Piastri and Norris behind.

---

Charles Leclerc claims Hungarian GP pole position is one of his best

Charles Leclerc celebrates after securing pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Charles Leclerc branded the Hungarian GP pole position as one of the best ever in his career, as he did not expect it even in the slightest. The Ferrari driver has now made it 27 career pole positions in F1.

Speaking right after getting out of his car after qualifying, Leclerc explained how he does not "understand anything" about F1 at the moment.

"I have no words, it is probably one of the best pole positions I've ever had because I did not expect that. Today I don't understand anything in F1," said Leclerc (via F1TV interview). "The whole qualifying has been extremely difficult. And when I say that, it is not an exaggeration," he added.

Leclerc then highlighted how he struggled to even get out of Q2 at one point in the session, but managed to do it nonetheless. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, will start Sunday's race from P12 after yet another underwhelming qualifying performance.

Edited by Sumeet Kavthale