Rafael Camara took a crucial step towards clinching the Formula 3 championship by claiming pole position at the Hungaroring.
The Trident driver delivered a tense final qualifying run to secure his fifth pole of the season, narrowly edging out Mari Boya in a thrilling battle.
Tuukka Taponen completed the top three for ART Grand Prix with a brilliant effort late on to secure a second row start for the Feature Race.
Camara kicked off his potential title-clinching weekend in ideal style, going fastest in Free Practice for Trident with a 1:33.888s.
The Brazilian must outscore closest rival Nikola Tsolov by at least 12 points, and third-placed Tim Tramnitz by seven, to seal the championship.
Brad Benavides and Roman Bilinski rounded out the top three, while Tsolov’s session was cut short after his Campos Racing car came to a halt on track.
With the entry list confirmed for the penultimate round of the championship, the only change sees Nikita Johnson return to Hitech, replacing Freddie Slater.
Boya heads Campos 1-2 in early stages of qualifying
Every team headed out for the 30-minute session, except for Campos, whose drivers remained in the garage for the time being.
Ugo Ugochukwu was the first to set the pace after the initial warm-up laps, with the in-form Prema driver going quickest early on.
Camara briefly knocked him off his perch before his lap was deleted for track limits, allowing his team-mate Noah Stromsted to take provisional pole with a 1:33.354s.
Laurens van Hoepen slotted into second for ART Grand Prix, followed by team-mate Taponen and James Wharton in fourth and fifth, marking a strong early showing for the French squad.
Callum Voisin held sixth, Alessandro Giusti seventh, with Noel Leon, James Hedley and Bilinski rounding out the top 10
Campos then came to life, as Boya went fastest in the first two sectors and grabbed provisional pole with a 1:33.013s.
Tsolov moved up to fourth, while Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak made it a provisional 1-2 for the Spanish outfit with just over half of the session remaining.
Meanwhile, Camara found himself languishing in 28th and returned to the track for another run – Tramnitz also down the order in 16th place.
Tsolov struggles as Campos team-mate Boya thrives
The order shifted dramatically once again, with Charlie Wurz unexpectedly vaulting to provisional pole.
The Austrian improved on his second attempt to edge ahead of Ugochukwu by just 0.001s, while Giusti climbed to third for MP Motorsport.
Theophile Nael also moved up the order into fourth, and Camara recovered from an earlier disrupted lap to slot into fifth and rejoin the fight for pole.
Brando Badoer and Leon had briefly made it a 1-2 for Prema before being shuffled back to sixth and seventh as others improved.
Santiago Ramos moved into eighth, Stromsted could only manage ninth, and van Hoepen rounded out the top 10 after the second round of flying laps.
Boya had slipped to 11th, while Tramnitz improved just enough to put himself on provisional reverse-grid pole.
But Campos wasn’t done yet — Boya, out in clean air once more, surged back to the top with a 1:32.653s to reclaim provisional pole.
His team-mates couldn’t match him this time, with Inthraphuvasak only improving to eighth, and Tsolov slipping all the way down to 15th — crucially outside the top 12.
With under five minutes remaining, the grid prepared for one final flying lap, but Camara’s outlap was once again disrupted.
He had to dive into the pits to avoid traffic at the final corner before heading out for another warm-up lap.
Camara snatches pole from Boya in tense finale
Track conditions continued to improve, adding another twist to the battle for pole in the closing stages of qualifying at the Hungaroring.
Badoer climbed into the top five before Gerrard Xie shook up the order by vaulting onto the front row for Hitech. Moments later, Taponen snatched provisional pole position in a nail-biting finish, edging out Xie by just 0.001 seconds.
Yet there was more to come, with the Campos drivers and Camara still to complete their final attempts.
Inthraphuvasak secured 12th place — reverse-grid pole for the Sprint Race — while Tsolov failed to improve, remaining down in 21st place, a severe blow to his championship hopes. Tramnitz also struggled, ending up 17th.
Despite earlier setbacks on his outlaps, Camara delivered when it mattered most, claiming pole with a 1:32.510s — extending his F3 pole record to five this season.
Boya improved again but had to settle for second, just 0.008 seconds shy in a tense finish at the Hungaroring.
Taponen capped off one of the season’s best qualifying performances by securing a second-row start from nowhere, alongside Xie.
Nael finished the session to take fifth place ahead of Wurz, Ugochukwu, Badoer, Giusti, Wharton, Hedley and Inthraphuvasak completing the top 12.
The Thai driver will start the Sprint Race from pole with Hedley alongside him on the front row.
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