Lewis Hamilton is back! After 20 months, which would’ve felt like an eternity for the 7x champ, Hamilton is back at the very front of the Formula 1 grid. In today’s mixed-up Qualifying session for the Hungarian GP, the 38-year-old rolled down the years to finally pip Max Verstappen as he grabbed pole by the finest of margins. But it didn’t come as easy for the Brit as we would think. If today is a dream for the Brit, then yesterday was an awful nightmare.

Friday practice for Mercedes, at least on Hamilton’s side of the garage was woeful. In FP1, he couldn’t get any meaningful running in as rain marred the session. However, when he got back on track in FP2, he could only muster 16th. He vented, but the team ensured him they were cooking for a Saturday he would not forget, and boy did they cook!

Lewis Hamilton ignored as Mercedes masterplan pays off

Yesterday, Hamilton was quoted as saying, “It was feeling like the car is worst today but we’ll work on the setup tonight. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll feel better.” But the Brit was consoled by his trackside guru, Andrew Shovlin that today’s sacrifice, in terms of tire usage, would pay off tomorrow in Quali.

Safe to say, the gamble or rather, the masterplan the Silver Arrows were brewing paid off by the slimmest of margins; 0.003s! After stitching up a superb lap, Hamilton clinched his 104th career Formula 1 pole and an eye-watering 9th for the Hungaroring.

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What a day it has been for the 7x champion. Even though he’s been doing this for years, this time around the feeling of being on pole was certainly different.

Hamilton couldn’t contain his emotions after shock Hungarian GP pole

The Silver Arrows’ maestro had been on pole on a whopping 103 previous occasions. Yet, getting the better of his arch nemesis after a 20-month-long wait surely was a moment that sent him into a frenzied bout of nostalgia.

After the session, while speaking to Danica Patrick, he exclaimed, “It’s been a crazy year and a half, I’ve lost my voice I’m shouting so much! It’s amazing that feeling. We’ve been pushing so hard, to finally get to pole feels like the first time.”

Can Lewis Hamilton win the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix?

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