Formula 1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton took a surprise pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix as the rain fell, Red Bull faltered and Ferrari fell.

A sixth pole in Hungary and a fifth of the season looked completely off the menu for Hamilton during Saturday mornings free practice three session. In terms of pace, Mercedes were nowhere compared to Ferrari or Red Bull but add some rain into the mix and as usual, everything changes.

Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas qualified second, while the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel qualified 3-4

“It’s great for the team to have a one-two,” said Hamilton. “Geez, we couldn’t have expected this. Honestly, the Ferrari’s have been quick all weekend and we were just trying to do our best to be as close to them as possible but then the heavens opened and then it was fair game.

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“It’s so tricky out there. At the beginning it was dry for a part of the lap and then at the end it was getting more and more wet so it was really difficult to arrive in a corner and know how much grip you were going to have so that’s massively challenging. Then when it (the weather) got extreme, you’re just looking for a clean line and really just tip-toeing around the corners so it’s a bit like doing ballet – not that I’ve done ballet – but you’re tip-toeing and feeling the movement of the car.”

Bottas thought that he had taken pole when crossing the line and going fastest before Hamilton nipped him. For Bottas, at a race that has such a strong Finnish attendance that it is regarded as a home race, it was another case of being so close yet so far from topping the pile.

“Crossing the line and being on pole and then obviously Lewis had a little bit better lap in the end,” said Bottas. “It was really crucial. We only had one go with the new set of tires and he was quicker on that lap. Obviously, he was later on the track and the track is all the time drying up but as a team, for us to be one and two, it could have been worse today here.

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“We are free to fight (on Sunday) so I am looking forward to it.”

Vettel had set the pace in the first two parts of qualifying but found the going tough in the top-10 shootout and he was outqualified by teammate Raikkonen for the first time since the season opener in Australia.

Bottas, Raikkonen had too been on pole briefly after crossing the line but the 38-year-old F1 veteran seemed confident of a first win since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix where he raced for Lotus.

“Obviously, it’s not ideal but I think that weather is the most important thing and the nice thing is that the car was driveable and enjoyable in the wet today,” said Raikkonen. “I think I was a bit unlucky with the last (lap). We changed to new tires when there was a lot of grip but we got behind a Haas and in the spray it was impossible to see and improve. But there was definitely a chance in these conditions today to be quite comfortably on pole.

“It didn’t happen so tomorrow is another day and we’ll keep trying.”

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F1 Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying results

Fastest session times

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Petronas 01:17.4 01:31.2 1:35.658*

2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes AMG Petronas 01:17.1 01:32.1 01:35.9

3 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 01:17.5 01:32.8 01:36.2

4 Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Ferrari 1:16.666* 1:28.636* 01:36.2

5 Carlos Sainz Renault 01:17.8 01:30.8 01:36.7

6 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 01:18.6 01:31.3 01:37.6

7 Max Verstappen Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 01:16.9 01:31.2 01:38.0

8 Brendon Hartley Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 01:18.4 01:32.6 01:38.1

9 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team 01:18.3 01:33.0 01:39.9

10 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team 01:17.9 01:33.7 01:40.6

11 Fernando Alonso McLaren F1 Team 01:18.2 01:35.2

12 Daniel Ricciardo Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 01:18.5 01:36.4

13 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 01:17.9 01:36.5

14 Marcus Ericsson Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 01:18.6 01:37.1

15 Lance Stroll Williams Martini Racing 01:18.6 No Time

16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren F1 Team 01:18.8

17 Charles Leclerc Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 01:18.8

18 Esteban Ocon Sahara Force India F1 Team 01:19.1

19 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India F1 Team 01:19.2

20 Sergey Sirotkin Williams Martini Racing 01:19.3