IT took until Round 11 of this year's Formula 1 World Championship, but Mercedes' iron grip on qualifying has finally been broken.
Reigning F1 champion Lando Norris produced a stunning final lap to snatch pole position on Saturday for the Hungarian Grand Prix by the slimmest of margins, becoming the first non-Mercedes driver to top qualifying this season.
READ: Kimi Antonelli ends 3-race skid, turns pole to win in Belgium GP
Norris clocked a 1:17.207 on his final flying lap to edge Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton by a razor-thin 0.012 of a second, denying the seven-time world champion what would have been a record-extending 10th pole at the Hungaroring as Charles Leclerc completed the top three.
While the Silver Arrows' perfect pole streak through the opening 10 rounds of the championship comes to an end, it was still Mercedes power on top, with Norris' McLaren using the German manufacturer's engine.
The pole was also Norris' second in Hungary in the last three years, further asserting his mastery of the storied Hungaroring.
“We’ve seemed quick from the first laps that we did. We brought a few upgrades, and it’s hard to know how much it helps in terms of lap time, but it certainly helped today," Norris said.
“I’m very, very happy to be back on top, especially at a track where you want to be on pole.”
Grand Budapest drama
The decisive moments came amid late-session chaos.
Hamilton appeared on course for pole after the opening Q3 runs before the final shootout was disrupted when Max Verstappen spun, bringing out yellow flags that forced drivers to adjust their final attempts.
Moments later, another yellow flag flew after Russell suffered a water leak in his car and had to stop his Mercedes on track, leaving the field scrambling to complete one last clean lap.
Norris, however, timed his run to perfection. Threading his McLaren through the interruptions, the reigning champion found enough pace to snatch top spot at the checkered flag while Hamilton was unable to improve.
The Briton is provisionally set to share the front row with Hamilton, although the Ferrari driver still faces a post-qualifying stewards' hearing for allegedly impeding McLaren's Oscar Piastri in Q3, with a grid penalty still a possibility.
Leclerc qualified third ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, whose fourth-place effort marked his lowest qualifying position since the Austrian Grand Prix. Piastri will line up fifth, followed by Verstappen in sixth.
Russell, meanwhile, could do no better than seventh after his late mechanical trouble, giving Mercedes its worst combined qualifying result of the season after monopolizing pole through the first 10 races.
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar starts eighth, Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad ninth and Audi veteran Nico Hulkenberg completing the provisional starting grid top 10.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
