Mercedes’ troubles adapting to the 2022 regulations meant Hamilton found himself dropped from the front of the grid to the midfield.
However, despite driving a series of underperforming cars, the seven-time world champion still retained his status of King of the Ring.
12 months ago, Hamilton bagged his ninth pole position at the Hungaroring – the most of any driver at a single track in F1 history.
That record won’t be threatened anytime soon either, with his recent Silverstone win coming from second rather than what would have been an eighth pole at the British Grand Prix.
Coming into Hungary last year, Hamilton had not taken a pole since Saudi Arabia 2021 – his longest drought since his first at Montreal 2007.
In his home away from home, the Mercedes star delivered a historic run to beat Max Verstappen by just three-thousandths of a second.
Speaking after his astonishing lap, Hamilton said: “It’s been a crazy year and a half. I’ve lost my voice from shouting so much in the car.
“It’s amazing that feeling. I feel so grateful to be up here because the team have worked so hard. We’ve been pushing so hard over this time, to finally get a pole, it feels like the first time.
“And a big, big thanks to the crowd here, we have such an amazing crowd, every year here in Budapest.
“Wow! I didn’t expect coming here today that we’d be fighting for pole, so when I went into that last run, I gave it absolutely everything, there was nothing left in it.”
