Hamilton sets the pace in Hungary

Lewis Hamilton

The omens looked good for Hamilton as he launched his bid to become the first driver to win five Hungarian Grands Prix and also the only person to claim three in a row at the Hungaroring.

He left himself with a mountain to climb when he crashed in practice in Germany last weekend and started 20th on the grid, but put that major setback behind him to finish third.

Rosberg's triumph on home soil extended his championship lead over Hamilton to 14 points, but it was the Briton who laid down a marker as he clocked one minute 25.814 seconds - 0.183secs faster than his team-mate.

Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest, with Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso fourth and defending champion Sebastian Vettel fifth in his Red Bull.

Kevin Magnussen (McLaren), Jean-Eric Vergne (Torro Rosso), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Jenson Button (McLaren) and Felipe Massa (Williams) completed the top 10.

Hamilton - who was this week forced to deny rumours that he was looking to leave Mercedes amid speculation linking him with McLaren - and Rosberg both posted fast times before the Englishman ultimately clocked the quickest of the morning.

Rosberg will be looking to turn the tables in the afternoon session and make a statement of intent for the remainder of the weekend.

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