Lando Norris takes Hungary pole in McLaren front row lockout

Lando Norris saw off McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to claim pole position for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Norris driver executed an impressive lap at the Hungaroring to beat Piastri to top spot by just 0.022 seconds and claim only the third pole of his career - and McLaren's first front-row lockout in nearly a dozen years.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen had to settle for third, 0.046 sec back.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished fourth and British Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton took fifth. In the other Mercedes, George Russell crashed out of qualifying at the first hurdle and is set to start 17th.

RB's Yuki Tsunoda crashed heavily at turn five, leading to a suspension with just two minutes and 13 seconds of qualifying remaining.

But while Norris led off a gaggle of cars at the restart, light drizzle meant none of the major players improved on their earlier times.

Norris, 24, has looked the real deal throughout practice and his timely pole arrives just a fortnight after he confessed to throwing away a home win at Silverstone.

"I am very happy because ending up on top is the best part," said Norris, 84 points behind Verstappen in the standings at the midway stage of the season. "A one-two for the team is fantastic.

"We have got confidence. We are not searching for it. We have a good car to fight for pole and that is what we did today. To end up on pole is sweet."

Hamilton vowed to use his victory at Silverstone as a springboard to further success but both he and Mercedes were brought back down to earth at a venue which the seven-time world champion has so often ruled.

Hamilton's eight victories and nine poles at the Hungaroring are unmatched but he has not been happy with the handling of his Silver Arrows all weekend and, after