Lewis Hamilton said he was in dreamland after claiming the 90th pole of his remarkable career in a year where he now looks increasingly likely to match Michael Schumacher's championship record.
Hamilton produced another of his magical laps to set a new track record and beat Valtteri Bottas by 0.107 seconds as the all-conquering Mercedes team locked out the front row for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 35-year-old Briton enjoys a remarkable record at the twisty Hungaroring venue. This was his seventh pole at the venue and on Sunday he will go in search of his eighth win to equal Schumacher's record for the number of triumphs at a single track – the German having won on eight occasions at Magny-Cours in France.
Lando Norris will start eighth for McLaren, while for the second week in succession, George Russell was the standout performer in the opening phase of qualifying.
"That's a lap, that's a lap," he said over the team radio after comfortably making it through to Q2.
The Mercedes junior driver, who this week confirmed he will remain at Williams next year, finished 12th. Russell's rookie team-mate Nicholas Latifi also made it through to Q2, to ensure both Williams cars progressed from Q1 for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix in 2018. It was a boost for the British team who have been on a downward spiral for the past few seasons.
On an afternoon to forget for Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion and most-capped driver on the grid, will line up in last position for Sunday's race.
