LIVE: Formula One title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are set for more first-lap fireworks at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after coming together in an ugly collision at the British GP a fortnight ago.

Both drivers furiously blamed each other for the early crash, which ended Verstappen’s race as Hamilton went on to win and narrow the championship gap to just eight points behind the Red Bull driver.

Now Hamilton – chasing his 100th F1 win – starts from pole at the Hungaroring for a record-equalling eighth time, ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and Verstappen in third.

Adding to the excitement is the weather forecast, with rain already falling on the track and likely to continue until the race.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo qualified a ‘painful’ 11th, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz also wants to charge up the field after crashing in Q2 and starting 15th.

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HOW TO WATCH

Watch LIVE on Fox Sports 506 from 9.30pm AEST ahead of the race start at 11pm.

Stream Every Practice, Qualifier & Race of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

RACE CENTRE: Live lap times and stats

LIVE BLOG

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Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo will start from 11th at the Hungarian Grand Prix after a hugely disappointing qualifying on Saturday night.

Ricciardo was a dismal 0.583 seconds behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris (seventh) in the first session of qualifying, only just scraping through to Q2 in a lowly 14th place. Despite significantly improving his time, Ricciardo missed out on the top-10 and a place in the third qualifying session by 0.077 seconds.

Ricciardo was eliminated in 11th, 0.486s behind Norris in second. After hearing the result on team radio, a resigned Ricciardo said simply: “Okay, alright, f**k.”

“It’s another really, really bad day for Daniel,” former world champion Nico Rosberg said in commentary.

A huge crash on Turn 11 for Haas driver Mick Schumacher in Practice 3 – just two hours before qualifying – ruled his damaged car out of the quali session, meaning he’ll line up last.

Then Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz suffered a massive blow with a big crash in Q2. Sainz had claimed an impressive fourth in Q1, behind only Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and the two Mercedes, and was looking very impressive. But after failing to post a time for Q2, he’ll start 15th.

It is a boost for Ricciardo, as Sainz sits one place above him in the F1 drivers’ championship – seventh to Ricciardo’s eighth.

Another driver to struggle in qualifying was George Russell, who failed to get his Williams into Q2 for the first time this season.

PREVIEW

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the final practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday morning, ahead of the afternoon qualifying session.

The Mercedes driver, who is aiming for the 100th GP win of his career this weekend, was just 0.88 secs quicker than title rival Max Verstappen with Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas in third, 0.229 secs off the pace.

Verstappen currently leads the title race, eight points ahead of Hamilton, who won the last event at Silverstone after the two collided on the first lap, resulting in a heavy crash for the Red Bull driver and a heightening of tensions between the teams.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc bounced back from some tepid performances on Friday to finish fourth and fifth on a course that is often compared with the tight lanes of Monaco, which has traditionally suited them.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was sixth ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, with Daniel Ricciardo in the other McLaren, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll completing the top 10.

RACE CENTRE: Live lap times, full session results

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Max Verstappen remains unhappy with Lewis Hamilton despite clearing the air with the Briton during a phone call following their spectacular crash.

Dutchman Verstappen was taken to hospital as seven-time champion Hamilton closed the gap to eight points in the standings before this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver declined to go into any detail, adding instead he was more upset by the defending champion’s post-race celebrations.

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“One guy is in hospital, the other guy is waving the flag around like nothing has happened while you pushed the guy into the wall with 51Gs,” he said.

“And not only that, just the whole reaction of the team. That’s not how you celebrate a win. Especially a win — how they got it.

“That’s what I found really disrespectful. In a way, it shows how they really are. It comes out after a pressure situation. I wouldn’t want to be seen like that.”

Mercedes ramped up the war of words with Formula One rivals Red Bull by accusing them of attempting to “tarnish the good name and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton”.

The accusation came after Red Bull failed to win a review into the 10-second penalty handed to Hamilton for the world champion’s controversial collision with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix.

“In addition to bringing this incident to a close we hope this decision will mark the end of a concerted attempt by the senior management of Red Bull Racing to tarnish the good name and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton,” said a Mercedes statement.

Hamilton said he would be ready to repeat his controversial pass on Verstappen which caused the championship leader to crash out of the British Grand Prix earlier this month.

“In terms of the move, I’d do it again exactly as I’ve done it in the past,” said Hamilton who can claim his 100th career win on Sunday.

“I think, growing up, wheel-to-wheel racing was always the best, from karting. The most exciting part of motor sport is when you see close racing.

“We’re now seeing two teams incredibly close on performance. And if there’s more people watching then that tells you all you need to know,” he added.

Mercedes’ Hamilton defended his reaction after the win while Red Bull’s mood was not improved when their bid to have a review of Hamilton’s 10-second penalty imposed for the crash was thrown out by race stewards.

“I don’t believe our behaviour was disrespectful. It’s one thing knowing and then celebrating what happened and there’s one thing not knowing and celebrating. Obviously I wasn’t aware,” Hamilton said.

“It was my home Grand Prix and we worked incredibly hard for who knows how long to get a result like that.

“Emotions were running high. It wasn’t an intentional celebration it was just the joy of seeing so many people and so many people celebrating, being together and that’s the natural emotion. I’m not going to hide my emotions. It was an amazing feeling,” he added.

Verstappen distanced himself from claims made by his team boss Christian Horner who accused seven-time champion Hamilton of “dirty driving”.

“That’s the first time I heard it like that. No, I think he just misjudged the moment in that corner.” Hamilton, 36, received a 10-second penalty for his role in the collision and Verstappen said it was too lenient.

“I don’t think the penalty was correct because basically you take out your main rival and, especially with the speed we have in our cars, we are miles ahead of, let’s say, the third-best team.

“We are easily 40, 50 seconds ahead in normal conditions. So, a 10 second penalty doesn’t do anything so definitely that penalty should have been more severe.”