Rosberg on pole
July 23, 2016The first qualification round was delayed for twenty minutes as rains drenched the Hungaroring circuit, and the times when the drivers were allowed back out on the asphalt were almost comically slow.
There were no fewer than four red flags - possibly a record for a Grand Prix qualifying session.
But the rain ceased, the surface dried out and the speed increased quickly during the second qualification round. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton was arguably lucky to survive, just beating out Romain Grosjen for the tenth fastest time.
The Briton put the pedal to the metal in the third qualification round, recording the fastest time. And he thought he had sewn up pole, when Fernando Alonso went into a spin, bringing out a yellow flag.
"I felt good on my final lap and was four tenths up," Hamilton said. "I was unlucky, but these things happen."
Rosberg slowed for the flag but was allowed to reaccelerate and complete his lap. His time of 1:19.965 was 1.4 tenths of a second faster than his Mercedes teammate and main rival.
"It was a really challenging qualifying," Rosberg told reporters after the 26th pole position of his career. "In the end it was pretty amazing that it dried out. I got a really good lap in on that last lap. Awesome. Very happy with that."
Rosberg currently holds a razor-thin one-point lead over Hamilton in the drivers' standings and will start ahead of him in the front row in Sunday's race. Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen will begin third and fourth. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fifth and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Toro Rosso was sixth in qualifying.