The Englishman was himself some way ahead of the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima, with Jarno Trulli's Toyota taking the final points position.

BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Raikkonen cruises to Spanish win

Also knocked out in the opening drives were Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil of Force India, Honda's Rubens Barrichello and Williams's Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima.

CNN: Hamilton heads McLaren 1-2 in Hungary qualifying

Williams put in another solid practice performance as Nico Rosberg recorded the third fastest time with team-mate Kazuki Nakajima fifth quickest in the second practice session.

BBC: Hamilton top as McLaren set pace