GP3 Hungary: Luca Ghiotto takes pole position in closing moments
Championship leader Luca Ghiotto edged out Emil Bernstorff on his final run in an extremely close GP3 qualifying to clinch pole position at the Hungaroring
Trident driver Ghiotto, who set the initial pace on his opening run, traded fastest times with Bernstorff and Marvin Kirchhofer for the majority of the session.
The Italian however left his best lap for his final run, pipping Bernstorff by just 0.036s when the chequered flag fell, with a time of 1m34.030s.
Mercedes junior driver Esteban Ocon, who was fastest in free practice, also left it late to set his best time.
The Frenchman jumped from seventh to third in the closing stages, demoting Kirchhofer and Jimmy Eriksson down to fourth and fifth.
Koiranen GP driver Matt Parry, who ran wide on several occasions, was able to pull some strong laps together to qualify sixth ahead of Alex Palou and Ferrari protege Antonio Fuoco.
Fresh off the back of his maiden series win at Silverstone Kevin Ceccon qualified in ninth, only a fraction clear of Pal Varhaug who rounded out the top 10.
ART driver Alfonso Celis Jr completed four laps but failed to set a time and will start behind Samin Gomez in last place.
QUALIFYING RESULT
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luca Ghiotto | Trident | 1m34.030s | 12 |
| 2 | Emil Bernstorff | Arden International | 0.036s | 15 |
| 3 | Esteban Ocon | ART Grand Prix | 0.184s | 12 |
| 4 | Marvin Kirchhofer | ART Grand Prix | 0.201s | 12 |
| 5 | Jimmy Eriksson | Koiranen GP | 0.329s | 15 |
| 6 | Matt Parry | Koiranen GP | 0.492s | 14 |
| 7 | Alex Palou | Campos Racing | 0.496s | 14 |
| 8 | Antonio Fuoco | Carlin | 0.541s | 12 |
| 9 | Kevin Ceccon | Arden International | 0.714s | 14 |
| 10 | Pal Varhaug | Jenzer Motorsport | 0.715s | 13 |
| 11 | Mitch Gilbert | Carlin | 0.721s | 14 |
| 12 | Matheo Tuscher | Jenzer Motorsport | 0.736s | 13 |
| 13 | Seb Morris | Status Grand Prix | 0.843s | 12 |
| 14 | Ralph Boschung | Jenzer Motorsport | 0.971s | 11 |
| 15 | Artur Janosz | Trident | 0.978s | 14 |
| 16 | Alex Fontana | Status Grand Prix | 1.041s | 15 |
| 17 | Sandy Stuvik | Status Grand Prix | 1.061s | 14 |
| 18 | Jann Mardenborough | Carlin | 1.078s | 14 |
| 19 | Adderly Fong | Koiranen GP | 1.225s | 14 |
| 20 | Zaid Ashkanani | Campos Racing | 2.110s | 14 |
| 21 | Alex Bosak | Arden International | 2.205s | 14 |
| 22 | Samin Gomez | Campos Racing | 3.134s | 13 |
| - | Alfonso Celis | ART Grand Prix | - | 4 |
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