I'm no longer the leader of the Formula 1 pack - says Verstappen

The three-time world champion and current series leader has only managed to secure one pole position in six Grands Prix, as Red Bull's once significant performance advantage has diminished, allowing rival teams to catch up and even surpass them.

Throughout his career, Verstappen has clinched 40 pole positions, but only one - in Austria - since his dominant streak of seven consecutive pole positions was broken by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the Monaco Grand Prix.

"I enjoy competition," he expressed on Saturday. "However, I prefer being at the top of the competition. Currently, it feels like we are chasing and facing a few challenging weekends."

Despite his recent struggles in qualifying, he has been able to maintain a strong presence in races, even without much support from his struggling teammate Sergio Perez. Verstappen heads into Sunday's race with an 84-point lead over Norris in the drivers' title race.

Nonetheless, Red Bull seems to be under increasing pressure to defend their titles as their performance advantage continues to fade. Verstappen acknowledged this when he welcomed the team's significant upgrade package for the weekend.

"We'll see," he responded when asked about his race prospects. "In the past few races, McLaren has shown strong performance in races, even compared to qualifying. Today's weather was colder than expected, with clouds and rain, so tomorrow might bring different conditions. I hope that works in our favor."

Recent results have been influenced by changing weather conditions, with Mercedes excelling in Austria and Britain but struggling in the heat at the Hungaroring, where McLaren showcased their strength on Saturday.

In a tightly contested wet-dry session on Saturday, the top eight qualifiers were separated by just one-tenth of a second, with the top three within hundredths of a second of each other.

Norris, 24, set a fastest lap of one minute and 15.227 seconds to beat Piastri by 0.022 seconds, with Verstappen trailing by three-hundredths of a second in third place. This was ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who will take Sainz's place next season.

This marked Norris's second pole position in four races and the third of his growing career as he continues to gain experience at the front of the grid in his pursuit to challenge Verstappen, who is aiming for a third consecutive victory in Hungary on Sunday.

Verstappen has led the championship for a record 51 races since May 2022 and currently sits third in the all-time wins list with 61 victories, behind Hamilton with 104 and Michael Schumacher with 91.