Charles Leclerc seized a surprise pole position for Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix, edging McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri by 0.026 seconds and relegating Lando Norris to third. It is Ferrari’s first pole of the 2025 season at a regular grand prix and Leclerc’s first since Azerbaijan last September, delivered on a day when McLaren had dominated every practice session at the Hungaroring. Mercedes’ George Russell will start fourth, ahead of a resurgent Aston Martin duo: Fernando Alonso qualified fifth, one-tenth off pole, and Lance Stroll sixth after the team had languished at the back of the grid a week earlier in Belgium. Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto put Sauber seventh, with reigning champion Max Verstappen eighth for Red Bull. Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar completed the top 10. The contrast inside Ferrari was stark. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, an eight-time winner in Budapest, could manage only 12th and branded himself “absolutely useless,” telling broadcasters the team should “probably change driver” after his fourth failure to reach Q3 this year. With overtaking notoriously difficult at the twisty Hungaroring and a chance of rain on race day, Leclerc has a realistic shot at ending Ferrari’s winless run if he can keep the McLarens at bay. Piastri leads Norris by 16 points in the standings and expects stronger race pace, setting up a strategic battle that could shape the championship heading into the summer break.