Lewis Hamilton considered it a 'blessing'. The rain came to the rescue of the British Mercedes driver to secure pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix yesterday, a week after his surprising victory in Germany under the same conditions.

The leader of the F1 world championship, with a 17-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel, will start from the front row ahead of his teammate, Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas.

The Ferraris of Finnish driver Kimi Räikkönen and German driver Sebastian Vettel, faster on the dry tarmac and in the heat of free practice, will occupy the second row.

"This was unexpected" on a twisty track, a characteristic that doesn't favor Mercedes too much, commented the Englishman, winner in Hockenheim starting from the 14th position on the grid.

"On wet, we don't have as much confidence as on dry ground. We need to work on this issue," Vettel pointed out. "This second row is pretty good. We have a fast car which should be reflected in the race (...). We start in 4th position, it will be necessary to concentrate to win from that position," the German said.

These 'intense' and 'eventful' qualifications, according to general opinion, resulted in an unprecedented third row composed of Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault) and French driver Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso).

The first Red Bull, driven by Dutch driver Max Verstappen, finished 7th, while Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo had to settle for 12th. (D)