Hungarian F1 2008 - Qualifying : Lewis’ POLE Dance

World championship leader Lewis Hamilton put himself on course for a third successive Grand Prix victory after grabbing an emphatic pole position for Sunday’s Hungarian race.

The Briton powered around the blisteringly hot Hungaroring track in one minute 20.899 seconds, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen posting the second best time of 1:21.140.

“It’s been a pretty decent weekend for us so far and I feel safe with the position we’re in,” Hamilton said.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa had to settle for third place after finishing his last flying lap in 1:21.191. “I wasn’t 100 per cent happy with my laps in Q3,” said Massa, who trails Brit Hamilton by four points in the standings.

Massa’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start in a disappointing sixth place behind BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica and Toyota’s Timo Glock.

Twice world champion Fernando Alonso will line up on the fourth row of the grid for Renault after finishing qualifying in seventh place ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

Jarno Trulli ensured that both Toyotas qualified in the top 10, finishing the final session in ninth place just in front of Nelson Piquet.

BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld, who was a surprise casualty of the first qualifying session, will start Sunday’s race in 16th place ahead of Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello, with Force India pair German Adrian Sutil and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella bringing up the rear.

STARTING GRID
1st :Lewis Hamilton (McLaren),Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
2nd: Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)
3rd: Timo Glock (Toyota), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
4th: Fernando Alonso (Renault), Mark Webber (Red Bull)
5th: Jarno Trulli (Toyota) Nelson Piquet (Renault)
6th: Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (Honda)
7th: David Coulthard (Red Bull), Nico Rosberg (Williams)
8th: Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), Kazuki Nakajima (Williams)
9th: Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India)
10th: Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso), Adrian Sutil (Force India).