"What's happening?": Damon Hill reacts to Charles Leclerc and Aston Martin's surprise form at the F1 Hungarian GP qualifying

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc surprised everyone and took the pole position at the 2025 Hungarian GP on Saturday, August 2. Aston Martin, on the other hand, left the Spa Francorchamps disappointment behind it and locked out the third row. Former F1 champion Damon Hill came out and reacted to the frantic qualifying session at Budapest.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri came into the Hungarian GP as the favorites to take the pole position. The two McLaren drivers showcased their pace in the practice sessions as the fans were set for a showdown between the #4 and #81 for the pole position.

Norris and Piastri topped the Q1 and Q2 qualifying sessions. However, Charles Leclerc, who had finished all three of the practice sessions in the top 3, unexpectedly took the pole with the McLaren drivers failing to improve on their final laps in Q3.

Aston Martin, on the other hand, qualified dead last ( P19 and P20) at the previous weekend's F1 race in Belgium. However, the Silverstone-based team had a new fight about them at Budapest, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso showing strong pace in the practice sessions, followed by the first two qualifying sessions.

F1 Grand Prix of Hungary - Qualifying - Source: Getty

Coming into Q3, Aston Martin decided to send both its drivers out in clear air for the final runs, with Fernando Alonso coming within a tenth of Oscar Piastri's provisional pole time. With everyone else setting their lap times, Aston Martin locked out the third row for the race on Sunday (P5 and P6) and were just a tenth away from Leclerc's pole position time.

Damon Hill came out and reacted to Charles Leclerc's pole position and Aston Martin's exceptional performance as he posted on X:

“What's happening? Ferrari? Aston? 😳 👏🏼✌🏻🤪"

While Charles Leclerc took the pole position, his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 and will start tomorrow's race in P12.

Oscar Piastri details the reason why he lost the pole position to Charles Leclerc

Oscar Piastri spoke with F1TV after finishing the Hungarian GP qualifying in P2 as Charles Leclerc took the pole position. The McLaren driver revealed how his banker lap in Q3 was rubbish, followed by an even worse final lap, as he blamed the turnaround in wind direction for the lack of pace. He said:

“I think the wind changed a lot. I know it sounds pathetic to blame things on the wind but it basically did a 180 from Q2 to Q3. Just meant a lot of the corners felt completely different. My first lap in Q3 felt pretty terrible because I wasn't used to it. I thought the second lap was better but it was even slower.”

Charles Leclerc, when informed on the team radio about the pole position, was ecstatic and in shock, as he celebrated the same.

Edited by Sumeet Kavthale