Qualifying session 2: Wilson walks it

After setting the pace in the first session, the championship leader picked up from where he left off in the second 45-minute scramble with a lap of 1m27.695s, which was more than half a second clear of championship rival Mark Webber in second place. Ricardo Mauricio finished in third spot.

"I don't know [where the lap came from]," said Wilson. "It was one of those laps where everything just came together. We knew from last year that this was a great track for us. So far everything has been perfect. But it doesn't take much in this championship for everything to turn upside down."

Try as he might Webber, who lies second in the standings 10 points behind the leader, could not match Wilson's pace. The slippery Hungaroring track led to a spinning frenzy and frequent yellow flags, which did not help the Super Nova ace's cause. But even without the interruptions, the Australian was not sure he could have beaten Wilson's time.

"In the second session, there were loads of yellow flags," said Webber. "I had a few good first splits, but I probably wouldn't have been as good as Justin. There's only one car in front, but it's the wrong guy."

Webber is at a further disadvantage as he must start Saturday's race from the dirty side of the track and realistically must pass his Nordic rival by the first corner if he is to pass him at all. Mauricio is also likely to be threat coming from third on the grid.

"I've always been quick here," said the Brazilian. "It's a track I like and I'll go for it from the start."

Sebastien Bourdais moved up to fourth place in his DAMS Lola, closely followed by the Tomas Enge in the second Nordic car, who moved up from seventh to fifth.

Austrian Patrick Freisacher completed a good day for the Red Bull Jr team by joining team mate Mauricio in the top six. Darren Manning was slightly less pleased after being one of the few not to improve on his first session time and had dropped from fourth to seventh by the close.

Belgium's Marc Goossens was a respectable eighth quickest on his return to F3000 with Coloni.

Wilson may have clearly outpaced his rivals to take pole, but the British ace is not expecting an easy time of it on Saturday.

"The heat, humidity and non-stop work make it really tough here," said Wilson. "We'll be nose to tail round here and overtaking will be difficult."

For full qualifying results, click here.