Lewis Hamilton proved more sure-footed than his rivals in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, as he danced his Mercedes to a masterful pole position around a soaking wet Hungaroring. Hamilton, 33, who pulled out a "miracle" drive to win in similarly tricky conditions a week ago in Hockenheim, set a time of one minute, 35.658 seconds, 0.260 seconds quicker than Valtteri Bottas who completed a front-row lockout for Mercedes.

Ferrari had staked a strong claim to pole position after Sebastian Vettel set the pace on a dry track in the final practice session in the build-up to qualifying and also topped the timesheets in the opening two phases of qualifying. But, in the end, they could only manage third and fourth with the German, who lost the championship lead after crashing out from the lead last Sunday in his home race, beaten by teammate Kimi Raikkonen.