Lewis Hamilton: Hungary pole was most dominant of career

Lewis Hamilton said his Hungarian Grand Prix pole position was probably the most dominant of his Formula 1 career so far.

The world champion beat his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by 0.575 seconds to take his ninth pole in 10 races in 2015.

"In terms of how the weekend's gone, I'm incredibly happy. So far it's been one of the best," said Hamilton, who was fastest in all practice and qualifying sessions.

"I can't remember having the performance I've had this weekend on any weekend.

"I really wanted to adjust myself to hit the target every time I go out and I did.

"On a day like this with that kind of gap on your team-mate, you definitely have a good feeling. Psychologically it is good for me."

But Hamilton, who leads Rosberg by 17 points in the Formula One world championship heading into the race, said victory was far from certain in a race expected to take place in dry conditions in temperatures of around 28C.

He has expressed concerns about being overtaken at the start - as he has been in the last two races in Austria and Britain - especially as it can be so difficult to get past opponents around the tight and twisty Hungaroring.

"It is a long run down to Turn One, which is always a nervous point," he said.

"But hopefully, with the pace we have, we should be good.

"The race is incredibly tough - not only physically, but also technically for the car.

"But I feel confident in my team and my car and I hope we can convert it tomorrow."

Rosberg was perplexed by the size of the gap to Hamilton.

"The whole weekend has been up and down," he said. "The car was not as I was expecting and not in the right place. There are a lot of things I can't explain so we need to look into that.

"I was really happy this morning. I felt it was going to be my qualifying and starting on the first run it just went nowhere - I don't understand."

The two Mercedes are likely to be in a race of their own at the front, but there will be an intense battle for the final podium spot between the Ferrari, Red Bull and Williams drivers.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel beat Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to third by just 0.035secs, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen taking fifth ahead of Williams's Valtteri Bottas, Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat and Williams's Felipe Massa.

Vettel said: "I expect a tight race also to people behind - to the Williams and the Red Bull in particular.

"Red Bull are a lot closer to Mercedes than they were some races ago.

"I think it was fairly evident at Silverstone already so it was expected that they have a strong weekend here as well.

"So I expect them to be strong in the race, but we managed to out-qualify them which means that we are quicker."

The race takes place following the death of Marussia driver Jules Bianchi last week from head injuries suffered in a crash at last year's Japanese Grand Prix.

The teams and drivers are all carrying tributes to the 25-year-old Frenchman on their cars and helmets and there will be a minute's silence in his memory on the grid 15 minutes before the race, which starts at 1300 BST.

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