Charles Leclerc takes pole in Hungary, while Alonso is fifth: "The car is better than my back."

It's hard to say what was more surprising this Saturday in Hungary: Charles Leclerc 's lap, which put a Ferrari on pole position for the first time this season, or Fernando Alonso's pull of the hat, starting fifth this Sunday (3:00 p.m., Dazn), his best starting position of the season, the same one he held at Imola. If getting onto the third row of the grid at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was already a feat in itself, the Hungaroring race was even more surprising: the Asturian decided not to take part in the first free practice session on Friday to recover from a lower back injury he sustained last weekend at Spa.

Despite the Oviedo native's intention not to get caught up in the drama, no driver skips a practice session unless strictly required. "I'll have to manage the comfort inside the cockpit for the next two days," summed up Alonso after getting out of the car during the second session, where he finished fifth, giving some indication of what could come the following day. The sixth place in the starting lineup, which Alonso's Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll will occupy, makes it clear that the green car likes Hungary much more than Spa, where last weekend it placed 19th (Alonso) and 20th (Stroll).

“The car was much better this weekend, and we need to understand why. Just seven days ago, in qualifying at Spa, we finished 19th and 20th. And now we're fifth and sixth, despite not having changed a thing,” reflected the two-time world champion. “The car is much better than my back,” joked the Spaniard, before highlighting the success of the components that have been added to the AMR25 during a year in which the Silverstone team debuted its new factory and brought on a handful of new engineers.

The most recognizable face among them is Adrian Newey , who, however, is focused on the 2026 car. “At Imola we introduced a new package of improvements; in Great Britain we added the new floor, and now the new front wing, which is very important for changes of direction,” said Alonso, who seemed less astonished by his fifth position than Leclerc after opening his pole position so far this year. This is the 27th on his personal record, and the first for Ferrari in Budapest since Sebastian Vettel's in 2017. “It's probably one of the best poles of my career, and the most unexpected,” concluded the Monegasque, thriving on a circuit where, until now, he had never managed to get on the front row. Behind him will be the two McLarens, with Oscar Piastri (second) ahead of Lando Norris (third), as the big favorites to fight for the last victory before the holidays.