Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team's Sebastian Vettel qualified 10th for the Hungarian Grand Prix after a tense midfield battle for Q3, while team-mate Lance Stroll secured 12th.
Overnight rain meant track evolution was a key factor throughout the day, beginning with the third practice session.
Sebastian and Lance focused on final qualifying preparations on the Soft tyre, as well as longer runs on the Medium ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix.
Hungarian Grand Prix
Get ready for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix with our in-depth preview. Hear from Lance and Sebastian, and discover the key talking points for the race ahead.
Sebastian
Sebastian immediately demonstrated his Q3 potential on his first flying lap in qualifying by moving eighth after a 1.17.666 effort.
Using the new Soft tyres once again, Sebastian would return to the track in the final minutes of Q1 in 13th, demonstrating how track evolution affected the field.
Leaving it until the last seconds of Q1, Sebastian made sure of his Q2 berth by improving to his best time of 1.17.105.
All but Mercedes and Red Bull chose the Soft tyre for the beginning of Q2, and Sebastian was initially the fastest runner on the softest compound.
His 1.16.972 put him third during the field’s first flying laps, which was then followed by the only red flag of qualifying after Carlos Sainz Jr's impact with the wall at Turn 14.
The Spaniard was thankfully unhurt, and qualifying soon resumed with a final-lap shootout for Q3.
Sebastian and the midfield runners then traded fast lap times, but he made it into Q3 after his 1.16.794 lap time secured 10th.
In Q3, wanting to save tyre life for the Grand Prix, Sebastian opted for just a single run on the Softs, compared to two for his rivals.
Running on a clear track, he was able to set his best lap time of 1.16.750, meaning he will start tomorrow’s race from 10th place and firmly in contention for points.
"We struggled a little bit to get the tyres in the right place for that final lap. I think we could possibly have been ninth – but, realistically, P10 was about what we deserved.
"I actually think it will be an advantage to start the race on the Soft tyre – we just need to see how long it will last. It worked pretty well yesterday, but we still have to see if we can make a one-stop strategy work starting on the Soft."
Lance
Taking advantage of increasing track evolution, Lance headed out after other drivers helped create a grippier surface.
Lance quickly found himself inside the top 10 following his first run on a set of new Soft tyres, posting a 1.17.452 to go eighth provisionally.
Closely matching team-mate Sebastian, Lance would find further time on his second run after switching to another set of new Softs.
Making the most of track conditions and a relative lack of traffic, Lance surged to sixth at the end of Q1 courtesy of a 1.17.038 effort.
Lance continued to find a rhythm in Q2 and used another set of the softest tyre to post a competitive early time.
But while his 1.17.638 effort put him comfortably inside the top 10, track evolution meant lap times were continually improving across the field.
Like Sebastian, Lance battled well against some understeer issues during the session and still managed to improve on his second run.
His 1.16.893 lap time put him in contention for Q3, only for a series of last-gasp lap times to drop him to 12th at the end of Q2.
On the fringes of the points positions and with the benefit of a free tyre choice, Lance will be looking to gain places on the opening lap of the Grand Prix in tandem with a strong strategy.
"We were so close to making Q3, so it is a bit of a shame to only secure P12 on the grid. There are some mixed feelings because we were competitive in Q1 and finished P6 at that stage, but Q2 was a little trickier.
"Still, the positive is that we have a free tyre choice for tomorrow's race, and we will be able to consider a different strategy from the drivers in the top 10.
"It was tricky out there in such hot conditions and the tyre drop-off in the final sector today shows that degradation could be a factor tomorrow.
"Anything can happen in the race, so points are still achievable – and that is our goal."
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