BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) One Ferrari soared on the wind. One didnt.

Charles Leclerc snatched a surprise first pole position of the year for Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday, as the windy conditions blew away title-chasing McLarens pole position chances.

But Leclercs teammate Lewis Hamilton called himself absolutely useless after he could only manage 12th.

The wind changes

Leclerc had consistently been the best of the rest behind the McLarens in practice but remained well off the pace of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

That changed in qualifying, with the help of gloomy, gusty conditions. Alterations in wind direction in particular worked against the McLarens as the session went on.

Norris and Piastri were each about half-a-second slower per lap in the final part of qualifying, compared to the second segment. Piastri called the conditions bizarre and somewhat frustrating.

Still, pole came as a shock for Leclerc at a circuit which he called on Thursday by far the worst track of the season for me.

What? Leclerc exclaimed over the radio when he was told hed qualified first.

Honestly, I have no words. Its probably one of the best pole positions Ive ever had because its the most unexpected, Leclerc added later.

Defending the lead

Pole position is usually a big advantage in Hungary, where overtaking is difficult, but Norris noted the chance that rain could spring more surprises in Sundays race.

I have no idea how it will go, but one thing for sure is that I will do absolutely everything in order to keep that first place, said Leclerc.

Hes on pole for the 27th time in F1 but has only converted five of those starts into wins. Hell be seeking his ninth F1 victory in total Sunday.

Hungary is a slow, dusty track sometimes likened to Leclercs home of Monaco for the difficulty of overtaking.

Asked if there were any places to overtake except for the first corner, Piastri said: The pit lane. Thats probably it.

Hamilton suggests a driver change

It was a stark contrast on the other side of the Ferrari garage as Hamilton s long-running frustrations seemed to reach a tipping point.

He referred to himself as useless, absolutely useless in comments to British broadcaster Sky Sports and suggested Ferrari might need to consider a change of driver.

Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix a record eight times but qualified 12th as the seven-time champions troubles in his first season with Ferrari continued.

That came after Ferraris executive chairman John Elkann called it a rough season in comments Saturday on the F1 website, and defended Ferraris trust in team principal Fred Vasseur, whose contract extension was announced Thursday.

Ferrari hasnt won a Grand Prix since Carlos Sainz Jr.s victory in Mexico in October, when the Spanish driver now at Williams also had the Italian teams last pole.

Defending champion Max Verstappen was only eighth after struggling with the balance of his Red Bull, and teammate Yuki Tsunoda was 16th. That piles more pressure on the Japanese driver, who hasnt scored a point in six races.

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AP auto racing:

匈牙利布达佩斯（美联社）——一辆法拉利御风翱翔，另一辆却未能如愿。

周六的匈牙利大奖赛上，法拉利车手夏尔·勒克莱尔（Charles Leclerc）出人意料地斩获本赛季首个杆位，而大风天气则让志在夺冠的迈凯伦车队错失杆位机会。

但勒克莱尔的队友刘易斯·汉密尔顿在仅获得第12名后，称自己‘完全没用’。

风向变了

勒克莱尔在练习赛中始终是迈凯伦车手之后表现最佳的车手，但仍与奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里和兰多·诺里斯的节奏相差甚远。

阴郁多风的天气改变了排位赛的局势。随着比赛的进行，风向的变化尤其对迈凯伦车队不利。

诺里斯和皮亚斯特里在排位赛最后一阶段每圈比第二节慢了约0.5秒。皮亚斯特里将这种状况形容为“诡异且有些令人沮丧”。

尽管如此，勒克莱尔在这条赛道上夺得杆位仍令人震惊——他曾在周四称这里是'本赛季迄今为止对我来说最糟糕的赛道'。

“什么？”勒克莱尔（Leclerc）在无线电中听到自己拿到杆位时惊呼道。

勒克莱尔稍后补充道：“说实话，我无言以对。这可能是我职业生涯中最棒的一次杆位，因为它来得最出乎意料。”

守住领先优势

在匈牙利站比赛中，杆位通常具有巨大优势，因为超车十分困难。但诺里斯指出，周日的比赛可能会因降雨而出现更多变数。

勒克莱尔表示：“我不知道结果会如何，但有一点是确定的——我将竭尽全力保住榜首位置。”

这是他第27次在F1比赛中夺得杆位，但此前仅有5次将杆位转化为胜利。本周日，他将向个人职业生涯第九个F1分站冠军发起冲击。

匈牙利赛道是一条速度较慢、尘土飞扬的赛道，由于超车难度大，有时被比作勒克莱尔的家乡摩纳哥。

当被问及除第一个弯道外是否还有其他超车机会时，皮亚斯特里回答道："维修区通道。大概就这里了。"

汉密尔顿提议更换车手

法拉利车房另一侧则形成鲜明对比——汉密尔顿长期积压的挫败感似乎已到达临界点。

他在接受英国天空体育采访时自称“一无是处，彻底无用”，并暗示法拉利车队可能需要考虑更换车手。

汉密尔顿曾八次赢得匈牙利大奖赛，创下历史纪录，但这位七届世界冠军在加盟法拉利车队的首个赛季中持续遭遇困境，此次仅排位赛第12名。

此前，法拉利执行董事长约翰·埃尔坎（John Elkann）周六在F1官网上称本赛季“异常艰难”，并重申法拉利对车队领队弗雷德·瓦塞尔（Fred Vasseur）的信任——瓦塞尔的续约合同已于周四正式公布。

自卡洛斯·塞恩斯（现效力于威廉姆斯车队）去年10月在墨西哥大奖赛夺冠并帮助法拉利车队夺得最后一个杆位以来，这支意大利车队至今未能再获分站赛冠军。

卫冕冠军马克斯·维斯塔潘因红牛赛车平衡问题仅位列第八，其队友角田裕毅排名第十六。这位日本车手已连续六站比赛未获积分，压力持续加剧。

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