Mercedes have not won in Hungary since 2013, with Daniel Ricciardo winning in the Red Bull two years ago before Sebastian Vettel’s win for Ferrari last season.
Advertisement
The defending three-time champion lost control of the back end of his auto out of Turn 11 on the tight and twisty track and hit the barriers side-on.
Hamilton, who has won four of the last five races to slash Rosberg’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship to just one point, was fastest in first practice at the Hungaroring, 0.237secs up on the sister auto.
Team mate Kimi Raikkonen fell casualty to the rapidly shuffling order in changing conditions and was knocked out in the second phase of qualifying.
After a 20-minute delay because of heavy rain, Q1 was interrupted by four red flags due to poor weather and crashes, lasting almost an hour instead of the usual 18 minutes. “It was a tricky session and I did the best I could do”.
“It was a really challenging qualifying”, Rosberg told reporters after the 26th pole position of his career. It was the dramatic second runs that mattered most and Hamilton was forced to back off on his quick run – he was fastest in the first sector – when Alonso went off, prompting double waved yellows – under which you must slow down.
None more so than Fernando Alonso, who spun twice in his McLaren, while Hamilton, Jenson Button – who finished the opening 90-minute session in eighth – and Raikkonen were other high-profile casualties to take unscheduled trips off the track.
LEWIS Hamilton has given an indifferent response to Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes contract extension, saying “I don’t mind who’s my teammate”.
Hamilton is seeking a record fifth victory at the Hungaroring circuit. “I’m not really too disappointed”.
Having first raced alongside each other, and built up a friendship, during their teenage years in karting, Hamilton and Rosberg have been in tandem at Mercedes since 2013 with those previous warm relations suffering under the weight of their successive world title battles.
Charlie Whiting, the FIA’s Formula One race director, confirmed in a note to the teams that “lap times achieved by leaving the track will be deleted” during qualifying.
Hamilton is also set to be with Mercedes through the 2018 season. Force India ran most of the session on the medium tyres, but at the end Sergio Perez jumped to ninth on supersofts with 1m 21.672s.
Advertisement
He was fastest at the time of his accident, but had done only four laps.
