Saturday’s qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix threw up plenty of surprises due to a heavy downpour of rain.
Ricciardo fell foul to the weather with Red Bull failing to react quick enough. The Australian ended up failing to get out of Q2 and will have to start the race from 12th on the grid.
But the shock of the day came from the Mercedes. On the dry track, they were struggling to keep up with the Red Bulls and Ferraris, but as soon as the rain arrived they came alive.
And Lewis Hamilton was able to pip his team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, to pole as Mercedes locked out the front of the grid.
It is expected to be largely dry and sunny for today’s race meaning Hamilton will have a battle on his hands to keep his car out in front.
But there has been some suggestion of rain in the latter stages which could make for another entertaining race.
Lewis Hamilton taunts Sebastian Vettel ahead of Hungarian GP
Follow below for live updates from the Hungarian Grand Prix
Hungarian Grand Prix LIVE
Lap 26
Mercedes bite the bullet and bring Hamilton in. Fast pit-stop and he comes out eight seconds ahead of Bottas.
Now it’s up to Vettel to put his foot down and try to get the undercut on his championship rival.
Lap 24
Vettel starting to gain time on Hamilton now, almost a second faster on that last lap, but he makes a little error to give the race leader some more breathing room.
Lap 20
Top 10: Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen, Gasly, Magnussen, Ricciardo, Sainz, Hartley, Hulkenberg
Lap 16
Cat and mouse from Ferrari and Mercedes now as Bottas is now brought in. Was this Ferrari’s plan all along? To give Vettel a clean shot at taking on Hamilton?
Lap 15
Early pit-stop from Ferrari and it’s Raikkonen coming in.
But it’s slow! Interesting tactic from Ferrari as Hamilton is still putting in fast lap times.
Lap 12
Elsewhere, Hamilton still comfortably leads from Bottas who is seemingly trying to back-up the Ferraris. Currently a 5.5s gap between the two Mercedes.
Lap 8
Verstappen was at fault for his retirements early in the season but this engine has now been terribly unreliable.
He clearly has had enough of the Renault-powered engine as well.
“Mate, really? Can I not just keep going? I don’t care if this f***ing engine blows up,” Verstappen said on the team radio.
“What a f***ing joke, all the f***ing time. Honestly. Argh.”
Lap 7
VERSTAPPEN OUT! The Dutch driver has lost power!
Another disastrous day out for Red Bull and another retirement!
Lap 4
Replays show that it was Ericsson who ran into Ricciardo’s front-left wheel.
He is currently running in 14th and is chasing down the McLaren of Vandoorne.
Lap 2
Leclerc an early casualty! Looks like a mechanical problem as he pulls his Sauber over to the side of the track.
Lap 1
Hamilton and Bottas expertly defend from the Ferraris from the start but Vettel manages to get ahead of Raikkonen.
Ricciardo in trouble though as he reports possible damage on his car. Terrible weekend for the Australian.
2:15pm: Drivers are back from the formation lap, lined up on the grid and… LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!
2:05pm: Minutes away from the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Here’s the top 10.
Hamilton, Bottas, Raikkonen, Vettel, Sainz, Gasly, Verstappen, Hartley, Magnussen, Grosjean
1:55pm: In amongst all the excitement of today’s race, there was a poignant minute’s silence for the former Ferrari chief Sergio Marchionne, who sadly passed away earlier this week.
Ferrari mechanics and the two drivers have black armbands on to pay their respects while both Vettel and Raikkonen have a black sash along the front of their car.
1:50pm: It was a massive disappointment for Red Bull yesterday with Ricciardo failing to get out of Q2 and Verstappen qualifying seventh.
And Red Bull chief Helmut Marko was frustrated neither driver was able to take advantage of the wet weather.
“We are all season praying for rain and then when it comes we can’t deliver.”
1:40pm: Hamilton currently holds a healthy 17-point lead over Sebastian Vettel after the German crashed out of his home Geand Prix last weekend.
But the Ferrari driver can ill-afford any more slip ups today heading into the summer break. On a dry track the Ferrari should be much quicker than the Mercedes but the Hungaroring is notoriously hard to overtake.
1:30pm: Hello, good afternoon and welcome to Express Sport’s live blog for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Us here in parts of the UK are currently dealing with the same wet weather that caused plenty of drama in yesterday’s qualifying session.
And there is a small chance today’s race could be affected by rain in the latter stages. This could be set to be another cracker!