Hamilton claims pole position

LONDON – A wry s mile f r om Lewis Hamilton as t he boos rang out from the grandstand after he snapped Max Verstappen’s f our- straight pole positions t o go quickest in Hungary.

It was a fascinating conclusion to what was a tense afternoon throughout the paddock.

Out came Hamilton for one final flying lap, a hair or so ahead of title rival Max Verstappen in the pitlane. And how slow he was after a quick check in his mirror, Verstappen must have been raging internally.

‘ Gamesmanship’ as i t was l at er referred to by Christian Horner over t he t e a m r a di o when Hamilton’s deliberate attempt t o back up t he field cost Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s t eam- mate, a chance t o r each t he chequered flag to clock another time.

Tactics. Boy, can they be devilish. Not that Mercedes will care. A front r ow l ockout with Valtteri Bottas preventing a face- off with a smarting Verstappen off the line tomorrow.

Verstappen will start from third, on the soft tyres shunned by Mercedes, who selected mediums. If Verstappen gets away poorly what then? There will be plenty of head scratching at Red Bull this evening.

‘‘ I t ’s difficult t o say ( what happened) but clearly the whole weekend so far we have been a bit behind and it showed,’’ Verstappen said.

Take nothing away from the drive before t he t actics t ook hold f r om Hamilton. This is his eighth pole at the Hungaroring and while the backdrop continues t o be his collision with Verstappen at Silverstone, he left his talking to the track.

If Silverstone was a pro- Hamilton crowd then here was as close to a Verstappendominated one outside of Holland.

‘‘ Karma is coming,’’ one banner directed at Hamilton read. I guess karma didn’t get the message.

As much as the sea of orange migrated over from Holland to support Verstappen t here were huge roars when Lando Norris went s econd quickest behind t he Dutchman i n Q2, to roar into the top 10, all while h i s t e a m- mate Dani e l Ri c c i a r d o slumped out in eleventh.

‘ F** k,’ was the disgruntled Australian’s assessment.

( Source: Daily Mail) A wry smile from Lewis Hamilton as the boos rang out from the grandstand after he snapped Max Verstappen’s four- straight pole positions to go quickest in Hungary. It was a fascinating conclusion to what was a tense afternoon throughout the paddock. Out came Hamilton for one final flying lap, a hair or so ahead of title rival Max Verstappen in the pit- lane. And how slow he was after a quick check in his mirror, Verstappen must have been raging internally.