Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix with perfect drive to take F1 Championship lead

• Lewis Hamilton wins third-consecutive Hungarian GP;  Verstappen and Bottas second and third

• Verstappen found the barrier on his way to the grid in wet conditions, but Red Bull fix his car in time

• Hamilton takes five-point lead in world championship after back-to-back wins

Lewis Hamilton delivered one of the most crushing victories in recent Formula One history - and then called on his under-performing rivals to raise their game so he does not cruise to a seventh world championship.

So emphatic was Hamilton’s performance here at the Hungaroring on Sunday - one that took him to the top of the title standings for the first time this season - that he could afford to stop for new tyres in order to post the fastest lap and claim a bonus point.

Before that change of rubber with four of the 70 laps remaining, Hamilton held a half-minute advantage over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, was even further ahead of Valtteri Bottas in identical Mercedes machinery, and had lapped Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel - a man he once considered a championship rival. Not anymore.

Hamilton’s fastest tour was more than a second quicker than Bottas, an eye-watering 2.5 sec faster than Verstappen, and almost 4 sec speedier than Vettel.

He now heads to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in a fortnight’s time five points clear of Bottas, who finished a disappointing third, and 30 ahead of runner-up Verstappen in the standings. So, is Hamilton’s march towards Michael Schumacher’s record championship collection in danger of becoming a procession?

"Not from my seat, no," he said. "We are working our arses off and we are going to continue to do that. Look, I don’t know what is going to happen over these next races.

"It was a flawless effort from our team this weekend, and in all areas we delivered so it was difficult for the others to compete.

"But I enjoy battling other teams, and I am hopeful we will still find some challenges up ahead. Would I like more of a battle from the others? Absolutely."

However, given Mercedes’ impressive performance this season - the Silver Arrows primed to win an unprecedented seven consecutive driver and team titles - Hamilton’s sole championship challenge is set to come in the form of Bottas.

While the 30-year-old Finn took advantage of an out-of-sorts Hamilton to win the first race in Austria, he has been blown away in the ensuing rounds. This is their fourth season together at Mercedes and during that period Hamilton has won 33 races to Bottas’ eight.

Hamilton’s 86th career triumph, which came a day after his landmark 90th career pole, now moves him to within only five of Schumacher’s win record, too. With seven races to come in just nine weeks there is every chance Hamilton will have toppled Schumacher’s tally - one which many thought could stand the test of time - before the close of autumn.

"In round one I was hit by multiple different punches that I was not ready for," continued Hamilton. "But I refocused and the last two races have been fantastic. I have been on point this weekend. I need to keep it up.''

Following a deluge of rain an hour before the start, the race began in greasy conditions.  Hamilton was supreme off his marks, dominating the drag race down to the opening bend. He was three seconds clear of the field at the end of lap one and almost nine ahead when he stopped for slick tyres two laps’ later. Bottas’ challenge faltered after he fell to seventh following a poor getaway.

Verstappen collided with the barriers on his way to the grid but following an expert repair job by his Red Bull crew, the Dutchman was able to start from his grid slot of seventh, before moving up to second and holding off Bottas in a tense finale.

Hamilton took a knee before Sunday’s race, and, as in previous weeks, he was joined by some drivers. But some stood, and again, some were late. It was a messy spectacle that Hamilton urged the sport to get a grip of.

“Moving forwards we need to speak with Formula One and they’ve got to do a better job," he said. “It was such a rush. Us getting out of the car, running over, quickly taking the knee. They need to do more.

“My dream is that one day the other drivers come around to it and if we get to the last race and we’re all kneeling down and showing that we’re united that will be beautiful.”

Lance Stroll finished fourth for Racing Point ahead of Red Bull’s Alexander Albon with Vettel sixth.

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Max Verstappen

3. Valtteri Bottas

4. Lance Stroll

5. Alex Albon

6. Sebastian Vettel

7. Sergio Perez

8. Daniel Ricciardo

9. Kevin Magnussen

10. Carlos Sainz

11. Charles Leclerc

12. Daniel Kvyat

13. Lando Norris

14. Esteban Ocon

15. Romain Grosjean

16. Kimi Raikkonen

17. Antonio Giovinazzi

18. George Russell

19. Nicholas Latifi

Non-finish: Pierre Gasly

4:06PM

That's it from me...

Thank you for joining us today. If you refresh this page in a few minutes you will get the race report from Phil Duncan.

Next up is the British Grand Prix in a fortnight. Until then, goodbye!

4:00PM

Here are the standings now

3:58PM

Hamilton speaks

'Believe it or not, it's still pushing out there - for fastest lap at the end. Huge congratulations to everyone back home at the factory. Even more on the engine department.

'Honestly, it was one of my favourite races to race. It was a different kind of challenge. We had great pace, but it wouldn't be without these guys working. Great pit-stops, great strategy.

'It was perfect to get on the fresh tyre and get the extra point.'

He added: 'Round one was multiple different punches, which I wasn't read for. But I have refocussed. I need to keep this up.'

3:54PM

Finishing positions

Here's how it ended up:

1. HAM

2. VER

3. BOT

4. STR

5. ALB

6. VET

7. PER

8. RIC

9. MAG

10. SAI

11. LEC

12. KVY

13. NOR

14. OCO

15. GRO

16. RAI

17. GIO

18. RUS

19. LAT

Pierre Gasly the only non-finish.

3:53PM

What a day for Red Bull

And what a drive from Verstappen. He stuck his Red Bull into the barriers on the way to the grid, breaking his front wing and a rod on the front left tyre.

Red Bull got it fixed with minutes to spare... and he beats Bottas to second place.

The headlines will be with Hamilton, but what a display from Verstappen and his team.

3:50PM

LEWIS HAMILTON WINS IN HUNGARY

It's another win for Lewis Hamilton in Hungary - his eighth in Budapest.

Verstappen gets second, Bottas third.

3:49PM

FINAL LAP

New fastest lap for Hamilton - 1:16.627.

3:49PM

FINAL LAP

The gap between Verstappen and Bottas down to 0.3 seconds. Eek!

3:47PM

Lap 68 of 70

Three laps to go - gap between Verstappen and Bottas down to 1.8 seconds.

New fastest lap for... you guessed it... Hamilton.

Further down the list, Albon passes Vettel for fifth.

1. HAM

2. VER

3. BOT

4. STR

5. ALB

6. VET

7. PER

8. RIC

9. MAG

10. SAI

3:44PM

Lap 67 of 70

Hamilton in for new tyres - here are the fastest laps. Will he finish on top of this too? You'd think so....

3:42PM

Lap 65 of 70

The gap between Verstappen and Bottas coming down quickly... down to 5.5 seconds. Late drama?

3:41PM

Lap 64 of 70

Alexander Albon in the other Red Bull is closing in again on Sebastian Vettel, who is in fifth. The gap down to 0.8 seconds.

Hamilton looked to be coming in... but the pit crew venture back in. What's going on there? Not even the race engineer knows on the radio with Hamilton.

No drama, though, with a 26-second gap.

3:39PM

Lap 62 of 70

Hamilton is preparing for his final pit stop and a chance of pushing for the fastest lap with new tyres and little fuel.

The gap between Verstappen and Bottas is hovering at 9.8 seconds and not coming down anywhere near quick enough for Mercedes with nine laps to go.

3:36PM

Lap 60 of 70

The gap between Verstappen (second) and Bottas (third) is now 10 seconds. Can the Red Bull hold out for the final 10 laps and keep Bottas at bay? Bottas is quickest on the track at the moment, so a nervy final few laps for Verstappen.

1. HAM

2. VER

3. BOT

4. STR

5. VET

6. ALB

7. PER

8. RIC

9. MAG

10. LEC

11. SAI

12. LVY

13. OCO

14. NOR

15. GRO

16. RAI

17. GIO

18. RUS

19. LAT

3:34PM

Lap 59 of 70

Lewis Hamilton has lapped everyone up to Lance Stroll in fourth after passing Vettel. Very dominant performance again from Mercedes, expertly guided from Hamilton. The gap to Verstappen is 24 seconds.

3:31PM

Lap 56 of 70

Hamilton saying on team radio that his tyres are not feeling so good. Expect him to pit soon.

He's still 23 seconds ahead of Verstappen, so plenty of time in which to do so.

Further down, Albon is closing in on Vettel - the gap down to a second. That's the battle for fifth.

3:28PM

Lap 53 of 70

Yep, Bottas' new tyres are working as a treat - Mercedes telling him he needs to do 1:18.5 a lap to beat Verstappen.

Instead he posts a 1:17.9 - so all looking fine.

Lance Stroll comes in for new tyres and is looking good for fourth place. He comes out in front of fifth place Sebastian Vettel and with fresher boots.

1. HAM

2. VER

3. BOT

4. STR

5. VET

6. ALB

7. PER

8. RIC

9. MAG

10. LEC

3:24PM

Lap 51 of 70

Bottas pits again, interestingly, for another paid of hard tyres. Mercedes obviously think Verstappen will pit again. Fresh tyres and plenty of space ahead of him to remove that gap, so the undercut is on.

Hamilton, too, could pit again with his healthy lead.

Into the final 20 laps of this race...

3:22PM

Lap 49 of 70

Verstappen and Bottas hit traffic, which denies us - temporarily - the battle for second as the pair weave in and out of the back markers.

Hamilton 23 seconds out in front.

Lance Stroll in fourth is 22 seconds behind Bottas, with Vettel a further 24 seconds back in fifth.

1. HAM

2. VER

3. BOT

4. STR

5. VET

3:19PM

Lap 47 of 70

The battle now is for second - Bottas is just a second behind Max Verstappen now.

The race stewards were satisfied Bottas was stationary when the lights went out earlier so did not punish him.

This battle fine for Hamilton, of course, who continues to press on further up the road.

3:15PM

Lap 45 of 70

Nicholas Latifi in the Williams has a spin at turn five, having caught the white line on the left. He's in last position and two laps down.

News of possible problems for Red Bull, who are alleged to have dried the ground ahead of Alex Albon's grid slot - which contravenes the rules. One to keep an eye on post-race.

Sebastian Vettel is up to fifth as Daniel Ricciardo pits for a new pair of mediums.

1. HAM

2. VER

3. BOT

4. STR

5. VET

6. ALB

7. PER

8. MAG

9. RIC

10. LEC

11. SAI

12. KVY

13. GRO

14. OCO

15. NOR

16. RUS

17. RAI

18. GIO

19. LAT

3:11PM

Lap 42 of 70

Bottas continuing to close in on Verstappen, taking another 0.8 seconds off the last lap. Are Mercedes heading for another 1-2?

3:08PM

Lap 39 of 70

Bottas again with a fastest lap - 1.5 seconds quicker than Verstappen, and into the 1:18s.

The gap between the two is down to 5.7 seconds and that may not last too much longer.

1. HAM

2. VER

3. BOT

4. STR

5. RIC

6. SAI

7. VET

8. ALB

9. PER

10. MAG

3:06PM

Lap 38 of 70

Verstappen in for new tyres, with Bottas taking chunks out of him on his own new tyres. That should put an end to that.

Hamilton also stops again for more medium tyres. He's in a very strong position for his 86th F1 win.

3:03PM

Lap 36 of 70

Still no sign of that rain, so Bottas puts on a new pair of medium tyres and finds some clean air. He is still fourth.

Hamilton is breezing around nicely, his lead now 18.965 seconds. But a few spots do appear on Hamilton's car camera as he closes in on some back markers.

Stroll, Magnussen and Perez all bit. Bottas immediately puts in a fastest lap of the race.

3:00PM

Lap 33 of 70

Sebastian Vettel with the new fastest lap of the race - 1:20.734 - that's a good 0.8 seconds quicker than Hamilton on the last lap. Plenty of ground for Vettel to make if he wants a strong points finish. He sits in 11th at the moment.

2:58PM

Lap 32 of 70

Max Verstappen falling further back, the gap to 15.5 seconds. He - like most of the drivers, it must be said - is complaining about the state of his front left tyre.

Here's where we're at as we near halfway:

1. HAM

2. VER

3. STR

4. BOT

5. MAG

6. ALB

7. PER

8. GRO

9. RIC

10. SAI

11. VET

12. RAI

13. LEC

14. NOR

15. KVY

16. OCO

17. RUS

18. GIO

19. LAT

2:56PM

Lap 31 of 70

New fastest lap for Hamilton, who is extending his lead to Verstappen - now 13.8 seconds.

Albon passes Grosjean for sixth, and the two meet gently as they pass.

And Sebastian Vettel pits for hard tyres. Rain aside, that should be his last stop.

2:52PM

Lap 28 of 70

Sergio Perez on the team radio: 'Ah, this is ---- - I am struggling.'

He, of course, started on the second row but finds himself in ninth. Team-mate Lance Stroll is third.

Forty-two laps to go in Budapest.

Charles Leclerc is in 15th, but is on the hard tyres and could go through to the end.

2:50PM

Lap 26 of 70

More rain chatter - Red Bull reckon 'medium rain' in eight minutes' time.

That could spice things up. In the meantime, as you were, with Hamilton leading from Verstappen. Bottas is closing in on Lance Stroll, who sits third. Gap down to around a second.

2:47PM

Lap 24 of 70

Kevin Magnussen is having strong race, sitting in fifth place. But he's 13 seconds off Bottas in fourth.

Hamilton's not too cheery on the radio, a bit agitated despite holding a strong lead. Perhaps a little worried about his engine. Looks to be fine at the moment...

1. HAM

2. VER

3. STR

4. BOT

5. MAG

6. GRO

7. ALB

8. VET

9. PER

10. RIC

2:44PM

Lap 22 of 70

Hamilton's lead is pretty steady, but healthy: 11.3 seconds from Verstappen. Incredible given the 20 minutes before the race, where the Red Bull didn't look like it would make it.

Charles Leclerc pleads with Ferrari to come in for a fresh pair of boots - and they finally give in.

Weather update: it looks like it will pass to the south of the track, so perhaps it will stay dry.

2:41PM

Lap 19 of 70

Albon finally gets down the inside of Leclerc for seventh place and Vettel passes Leclerc, who is on the softer (wrong) tyres. Albon is already a couple of seconds down the road, though....

2:39PM

Lap 18 of 70

Here's where we're at:

1. HAM

2. VER

3. STR

4. VOT

5. MAG

6. GRO

7. ALB

8. LEC

9. VET

10. PER

11. RIC

12. SAI

13. KVY

14. RAI

15. OCO

16. NOR

17. RUS

18. GIO

19. LAT

GAS is out.

2:38PM

Lap 17 of 70

Two out in front, if we're being generous, but really it's Hamilton out alone. He's 11.2 seconds ahead of Verstappen, with Lance Stroll 15 seconds further back.

Good battle for 7th, 8th and 9th - Charles Leclerc is almost passed by Alex Albon, but he can't get past at the first corner, but he has Vettel on his back. So plenty going on there.

Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly is out of the race - his car is smoking in the pit lane.

2:32PM

Lap 13 of 70

Vettel locks, goes wide and allows Alex Albon to move into eighth.

Hamilton has pulled 9.7 seconds ahead. Bottas is closing up to Lance Stroll in fourth, the gap now 3.5 seconds.

Light rain is 10 minutes away.

Here's the top 10:

1. HAM

2. VER

3. MAG

4. STR

5. BOT

6. GRO

7. LEC

8. ALB

9. VET

10. PER

2:29PM

Lap 10 of 70

So, Hamilton out in front - 8.3 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Hamilton keeps speaking to his team about his engine. He doesn't seem wholly convinced it's in the best way.

Bottas, again, passes Leclerc into the first corner and this time makes it stick. He is sixth.

The dark clouds are gathering - we could be due more rain in next 20 minutes.

Here's the start - Bottas fell backwards after his funny start.

2:27PM

Lap 9 of 70

Lance Stroll takes Romain Grosjean to move up into fourth.

Verstappen is still second, but trails Hamilton by 7.5 seconds.

Meanwhile, Bottas - still under investigation on that possible jump start - breezes past Leclerc with DRS to take sixth, before dropping back again shortly afterwards.

Another fastest lap for Hamilton, who is going at 1:22.130.

2:23PM

Lap 6 of 70

Only Leclerc on soft tyres in the top 10. All the rest on mediums.

Here's how we stand:

1. HAM

2. VER

3. MAG

4. GRO

5. STR

6. LEC

7. BOT

8. VET

9. ALB

10. PER

11. RIC

12. SAI

13. KVY

14. GAS

15. RAI

16. OCO

17. RUS

18. NOR

19. GIO

20. LAT

2:21PM

Lap 4 of 70

Drivers are finding their way on slicks with the track still damp.

An absolute nightmare of a stop for Sebastian Vettel who had to wait in the pit box while drivers passed - he's lost seven seconds for that.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen pits and comes out in second behind Hamilton, who retakes the lead.

Busy start!

2:19PM

Lap 3 of 70

Hamilton already seven seconds ahead of second place Lance Stroll

Plenty of cars have already come into the pits, including Bottas and Carles Leclerc.

Hamilton and Stroll both in too for medium tyres.

Incredibly, after his pre-race drama, Max Verstappen leads!

2:16PM

Lap 2 of 70

Hamilton really pulling away quickly, creating a three-second gap to the Racing Point behind him.

Bottas, his team-mate, is sixth and there is talk he jumped the start. So his misery may not be over yet.

Here's a quick top 10:

1. HAM

2. STR

3. VER

4. VET

5. PER

6. SAI

7. RIC

8. LAT

9. ALB

10. GAS

2:15PM

Lights out!

It's go in Hungary!

Hamilton pulls away in front, but Bottas has a nightmare and drops down the field.

Stroll moves to second, Verstappen also has a brilliant start into third, Vettel fourth.

2:12PM

Formation lap underway

Here we go, then.

And the sun is out, which should make for an interesting early race as teams ponder when to change to slicks.

All drivers bar one on intermediates - Kevin Magnussen on full wets. He and Haas hoping for heavy rain, clearly.

2:08PM

Two minutes until the formation lap

A reminder that this is a 70-lap race around the Hungaroring.

Verstappen looks to be good to go, thanks to the speedy brilliance of the Red Bull mechanics.

2:04PM

Prediction time

Here's what I'm going with - Vettel with plenty of experience around this track and may be helped by rain to get on the podium. But as always, anything can happen - particularly with such a tricky first corner. And that's why you can't keep your eyes off of it.

1. Hamilton; 2. Bottas; 3. Vettel

1:59PM

Verstappen update

Red Bull are working on the front left suspension on Verstappen's car. A new front wing can be attached, but replacing a track rod with 10 minutes to go feels like a bit of a push.

1:57PM

Lewis Hamilton and other drivers take a knee ahead of the anthem

Hamilton wears a Black Lives Matter t-shirt, with the others wearing t-shirts with 'End Racism' on the front.

Here's what the world champion tweeted a short time ago:

1:53PM

Plenty of work going on around the Red Bull

Verstappen went off at turn 12 - he appeared to lock a little turning into the corner, and speared off into the barrier.

Like a walk of shame, his car is being pushed through the grid to his starting slot - no front wing.

The camera cuts to Christian Horner who does not look particularly impressed, as you'd expect.

1:49PM

Oh dear! Max Verstappen crashes on his way to the grid

He's put it in the barrier, with pretty extensive damage to the front left. The front wing has gone, too.

He's limping back to the pit, but can the suspension be fixed before the race begins?

Clearly tricky conditions out there, even at slower speed.

1:43PM

Drivers are heading out on track

It looks pretty damp, but no suggestions yet it will start under a safety car.

1:38PM

George Russell defends Alex Albon, Max Verstappen gets involved

Good bit of bickering yesterday here, as reported by Reuters.

1:32PM

F1 standings after two races

Forty minutes to go until the third race of this 2020 season begins. In the meantime, here is how things stand after the first two:

1:21PM

What happened here last year?

Well, you may not be surprised to find it was another Lewis Hamilton masterclass. You probably remember it well.

Here was Oliver Brown's report from the race, where Hamilton - against the odds - chased down pole sitter Max Verstappen to claim victory on his way to a sixth World Championship crown.

Alternatively, you can watch the highlights here:

1:14PM

It's wet

McLaren doing their best to keep the pit box dry...

1:09PM

How they line up today

Here's how it finished yesterday and how it begins today. Another good day for Racing Point, who feature on the second row.

Ferrari have struggled for pace but may enjoy the prospect of rain. Not a good day for Red Bull, with Alexander Albon starting 13th. He was complaining to his team about being sent out into traffic.

1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 13.447secs

2. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:13.554

3. Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:14.377

4. Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:14.545

5. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:14.774

6. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:14.817

7. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:14.849

8. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:14.966

9. Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:15.027

10. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:15.508

11. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:15.661, 12

12. George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:15.698

13. Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:15.715

14. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Renault 1:15.742

15. Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1:16.544

16. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:16.152

17. Daniil Kyvat (Rus) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:16.204

18. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:16.407

19. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:16.506

20. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:16.614

1:04PM

Toto Wolff insists race not won...

...but he must be pretty chirpy with what he saw of both Mercedes cars on Saturday.

'It was a good day for us yesterday,' he told Sky Sports F1.

'But you've got to be careful - it's a race to us for lose. When you think you have the margin, things could go terribly wrong. We could have a messy start. Reliability remains an issue. Rain can be up there.

'The race is a different ball game.'

Mercedes have led every lap of the first two races. And with another front row lockout, you would get good odds on that not happening again today.

12:56PM

Welcome from me

Hello all and welcome to our live coverage of the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix. I'll take you through the build-up and race and keep you up to date on the action, latest positions and who finishes where.

We're got around an hour and 15 minutes until lights out.

One early note is the weather... the track is damp and folded brollies are tucked under arms. I'll update you closer to the start of the race with more detailed prospects around a wet race.

12:48PM

Qualifying recap - Hamilton sets track record with 90th pole

 Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton celebrated a record-extending and 'surreal' 90th career pole position on Saturday after a dominant Mercedes one-two in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.

Championship-leading team mate Valtteri Bottas will start alongside the Briton on Sunday, with the Mercedes-powered Racing Point cars of Canadian Lance Stroll and Mexican Sergio Perez third and fourth.

Hamilton is favourite to triumph for the eighth time at the Hungaroring and equal a record for most wins at the same grand prix held by retired Ferrari great Michael Schumacher, who won eight times in France.

The pole was his seventh in Hungary, equalling Schumacher's record for that race, and his Mercedes again looked to be in a class of its own after the team won the opening two rounds in Austria.

'Hungary's always been a good hunting ground for me but also I'm aware that qualifying isn't everything here,' said Hamilton, who lapped with a track record time of one minute 13.447 seconds, 0.107 faster than Bottas.

The six-times world champion said he had not realised immediately the significance of a pole that leaves him 22 ahead of Schumacher, the next best qualifier in the history of the sport.

'It feels very, very surreal...it doesn't seem real to have 90 poles,' declared the 35-year-old, who also has 25 more than his Brazilian boyhood idol Ayrton Senna managed in his F1 career.

Bottas hailed Hamilton for another great job but hoped to reverse the positions on Sunday.

'It's going to be a bit of a drag race into Turn One between us tomorrow, so I look forward to that; the first lap will definitely be interesting,' he said.

Perez was quicker than Stroll in final practice but the Canadian got the lap that mattered and looked forward to a strong race in the 'pink Mercedes', a controversial car very similar to last year's title-winning Mercedes and under protest by Renault.

The Ferraris followed the two-by-two team trend, with Sebastian Vettel lining up fifth and Charles Leclerc qualifying sixth -- a positive after a tough afternoon in Austria last weekend where they collided in the Styrian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, on pole last year, could only qualify seventh and ahead of the McLaren pair of Lando Norris -- third in the championship -- and Carlos Sainz.

'I hope this is going to be our worst weekend,' said Verstappen, who felt something was 'clearly not working' with his car.

Former champions Williams, who finished last overall in 2019, had something to cheer with both their cars through to the second phase of qualifying for the first time since September 2018. George Russell ended up 12th, and ahead of Red Bull's Alex Albon, with rookie team mate Nicholas Latifi 15th.

The session was held without spectators, as at the first two races in Austria, due to the COVID-19 pandemic but some fans still gathered at vantage points on surrounding slopes.

Reuters