Sebastian Vettel claimed pole position for his home Grand Prix in Germany as primary opponent Lewis Hamilton suffered a hydraulics failure and is set to start only 14th.
Vettel claimed provisional pole in Q3 with a lap of 1:11.539 in overcast but dry conditions at Hockenheim, after heavy rainfall affected the final practice session earlier on Saturday, but faced a threat from Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.
Bottas responded to Vettel’s benchmark to inch ahead as the leaders carried out their final push laps but the Ferrari driver underlined his pace with a lap of 1:11.212, beating his rival by 0.204s.
For Vettel, who grew up in the nearby town of Heppenheim, it marks his first pole position at Hockenheim since 2010, and his fifth of the season.
As Vettel celebrated pole position, title rival Hamilton was left facing the prospect of starting Sunday’s Grand Prix from the lower end of the midfield.
Hamilton suffered a loss of hydraulic pressure during the closing stages of Q1 and was told to stop his Mercedes W09, which he did at the exit of Turn 10.
Hamilton climbed from his car and tried to push it back to the pits but relented after a few metres, before disconsolately crouching alongside his stricken W09.
Kimi Raikkonen was in contention for pole position but neither of his two flying laps were good enough for a front-row spot as he took third, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.
Verstappen attempted to make it through to Q3 on the Soft tyres, in order to use the yellow-banded compound for the first stint of the race, but had to relent and take on a set of Ultrasofts.
Haas placed fifth and sixth, Kevin Magnussen ahead of Romain Grosjean, while Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg beat team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. to seventh place, the German equipped with the squad's new front wing.
Sauber's Charles Leclerc again made it through to the final segment of qualifying, taking ninth spot, leaving Force India’s Sergio Perez to round out the top 10.
Fernando Alonso finished 11th, though half a second down on nearest rival Perez at the conclusion of Q2, while Sergey Sirotkin took a fine 12th for Williams.
Marcus Ericsson caused Q2 to be suspended when he dragged gravel onto the circuit at Sachs Kurve after an error on his first run, and ultimately wound up 13th.
Non-participants Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo officially finished slowest in the second knockout session, with the Red Bull driver not running due to the engine penalty that will relegate him to last.
Esteban Ocon failed to make it through to Q2 and was left down in 16th place, ahead of Toro Rosso pair Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley, as the squad’s difficult run continues.
Lance Stroll was unable to match Williams team-mate Sirotkin and placed only 19th, while Stoffel Vandoorne finished as the slowest runner, replicating his Friday practice position.
Sunday’s 67-lap German Grand Prix is scheduled for 15:10 local time
