Rosberg on pole again

Team-mate Hamilton's hopes go up in smoke

 Formula One world championship leader Nico Rosberg took pole position for the Hungarian Gra­nd Prix on Saturday while Mercedes team-mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton saw his hopes go up in flames.

Hamilton, 14 points behind Rosberg after 10 races, has won in Hungary for the past two years and four times in total and was the favourite for pole and the race after setting the pace in practice.

Instead, the Briton was set to start last and from the pitlane after his car caught fire with the session barely started.

Red Bull’s quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel qualified second, equalling his best grid placing of the season, on an all-German front row.

Finland’s Valtteri Bottas starts third in a Williams with Australian Daniel Ricciardo fourth for Red Bull on an overcast afternoon that saw light rain fall between the second and final phase of qualifying.

For the second race in a row, Rosberg was left with mixed emotions -- happy to be in the top slot with every chance of extending his overall lead -- but saying also that he felt cheated of a battle with his team-mate.

Hamilton has had a run of bad luck with two retirements to the German’s sole blank and has also endured a string of qualifying setbacks going back six races.

At Hockenheim last Saturday, he crashed out of qualifying at the same point when a front brake disc failed and had to start in 20th place. 

That triggered a thrilling charge through the field on Sunday to third place but the slow and twisty Hungaroring is a far more difficult track to overtake on.

“There's a lot going through my mind, but I just have to try to turn it into positives until tomorrow,” Hamilton, whose car will need a change of engine and gearbox with accompanying five-place penalty, said.