Photo: FIA F3 European Championship
FIA F3 European Championship leader Esteban Ocon held on under attack from nearest rival Tom Blomqvist to claim pole for the first race of the category’s maiden visit to the Hungaroring.
Two quick laps put practice pace-setter Ocon nearly half a second clear of the opposition at one stage, but improvements from Blomqvist brought the British driver to within 0.084 seconds of the Lotus F1 protege. Ocon however held on to top spot to claim his sixth pole position of the season.
Max Verstappen was two tenths away from pole in third with Ocon’s Prema team-mate Antonio Fuoco fourth. The Mucke Motorsport duo of Felix Rosenqvist and Lucas Auer had set exactly the same time in their fight for P5 until Auer found a 0.022s improvement after the chequered flag to deny Pau Grand Prix victor Rosenqvist.
Antonio Giovinazzi was seventh ahead of fellow Carlin driver Jordan King. Gustavo Menezes maintained his strong showing from practice to secure ninth place with Felix Serralles completing the top ten.
Jake Dennis and Nicholas Latifi failed to set competitive times, with Carlin reporting suspension damage on Dennis’ car after contact with another driver.
Qualifying results
| Pos | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Esteban Ocon | Prema Powerteam | 1:35.585 | 10 | |
| 2 | Tom Blomqvist | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:35.669 | 0.084 | 10 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:35.881 | 0.296 | 11 |
| 4 | Antonio Fuoco | Prema Powerteam | 1:36.063 | 0.478 | 10 |
| 5 | Lucas Auer | Mucke Motorsport | 1:36.196 | 0.611 | 11 |
| 6 | Felix Rosenqvist | Mucke Motorsport | 1:36.218 | 0.633 | 11 |
| 7 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:36.332 | 0.747 | 10 |
| 8 | Jordan King | Carlin | 1:36.347 | 0.762 | 10 |
| 9 | Gustavo Menezes | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:36.380 | 0.795 | 10 |
| 10 | Felix Serralles | Team West-Tec | 1:36.586 | 1.001 | 10 |
| 11 | Dennis van de Laar | Prema Powerteam | 1:36.692 | 1.107 | 10 |
| 12 | Sean Gelael | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:36.736 | 1.151 | 10 |
| 13 | Roy Nissany | Mucke Motorsport | 1:36.786 | 1.201 | 11 |
| 14 | Jules Szymkowiak | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:36.953 | 1.368 | 11 |
| 15 | Alexander Toril | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:36.969 | 1.384 | 11 |
| 16 | Mitch Gilbert | Fortec Motorsports | 1:37.111 | 1.526 | 11 |
| 17 | Tatiana Calderon | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:37.156 | 1.571 | 12 |
| 18 | John Bryant-Meisner | Fortec Motorsports | 1:37.293 | 1.708 | 11 |
| 19 | Felipe Guimaraes | Double R Racing | 1:37.325 | 1.740 | 11 |
| 20 | Hector Hurst | Team West-Tec | 1:37.377 | 1.792 | 11 |
| 21 | Richard Goddard | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:37.496 | 1.911 | 12 |
| 22 | Michele Beretta | EuroInternational | 1:37.866 | 2.281 | 12 |
| 23 | Sandro Zeller | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:37.891 | 2.306 | 12 |
| 24 | Jake Dennis | Carlin | 1:49.168 | 13.583 | 3 |
| 25 | Nicholas Latifi | Prema Powerteam | No time | 2 |