Saturday at the Hungaroring proved to be a red-letter day for McLaren. It was celebrations galore for F1’s latest underdogs as both racers from the orange-clad team locked out the front row in Budapest. While Lando Norris got pole against heavyweights like Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri ensured a P2 start to Sunday’s Main Race. This means McLaren is once again at a great spot for winning the Hungarian GP—a feat that takes the viewers back to a similar incident that happened 12 years ago.

The year was 2012, and it was Lewis Hamilton’s second-last season with McLaren. The Briton and his teammate, Jenson Button, went for the Qualifiers for the Hungarian GP and locked out the front row. Now, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have accomplished that task once again, over two decades down the line. If things stay on the right track for the papaya army and one of its young talents manages to grab victory, McLaren will easily usurp Ferrari from the second spot in the World Constructors’ Championship.

At the British GP, McLaren had attained a P3-P4 finish as Piastri narrowly missed the podium. But grabbing a leading position on the starting grid, ahead of reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, shows the speed of the McLaren MCL38. But it was not just the sheer speed of their racecar but also some shrewd tactics that led to these Quali results. When Q3 was coming to an end, Lando already had a provisional pole. At that time, Yuki Tsunoda crashed, which led to a red-flag situation.

Then, McLaren had both cars head to the pit exit slowly so that none of the rivals could go for another flying lap to topple Norris from his leading spot. In the end, it was just Max Verstappen who could give the McLarens a run for their money but even his team did not allow him to go for a flying lap. The Dutchman was left frustrated, banging his hands on the steering wheel, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had the last laugh. So, what did the pair say about their amazing Quali performance in Budapest?

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri: Ecstatic for McLaren’s 1-2 Quali finish

McLaren might be a legacy team in Formula 1, but its last successful season happened in 1998 when it won the World Constructors’ Championship. And the last time a papaya racer won the Drivers’ trophy was Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Since then, the team has hit a slump in its performance up until now. Thanks to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the Woking-based outside looks favorable to win second place in the standings this year, and perhaps even snatch the top spot from Red Bull since their gap is only 84 points.

Having achieved such a great starting position for themselves, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri sounded ecstatic at the post-quali interviews at the Hungaroring. Norris said he is: “Very, very, very happy.” And his younger teammate chimed in, saying, “Yeah, it’s cool to be here, especially when you get a result like this. I think, the first one-two qualifying for McLaren, for a very long time. So, no, very happy, of course.”

Well, when Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button had pulled off a 1-2 Quali finish for McLaren twelve years ago, Hamilton had won the race. Does this mean Lando Norris has a good chance of grabbing victory at the Hungaroring tomorrow as well? If you believe the Briton is up for a repeat of his Miami GP win from May of this year, comment below to let us know.