Budapest, Hungary ? Lewis Hamilton took a big step toward winning his third straight Formula One race Saturday by claiming the pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver set a fastest lap of 1 minute, 20.899 seconds for his 10th career pole and second straight at the twisting Hungaroring track. Hamilton was more than two-tenths of a second faster than teammate Heikki Kovalainen to give McLaren a 1-2 front row today.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa will start from third ahead of Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen is sixth, behind Timo Glock of Toyota.

The 23-year-old Hamilton, who was fastest through all three practice sessions, is vying to become the fifth repeat winner and first Briton since Damon Hill 12 years ago to win three straight races.

“It’s very satisfying,” Hamilton said. “We’re in a good position; we’ve really done a great job this weekend.”

Coming off wins at Silverstone and Hockenheim, Hamilton showed why McLaren is in control of the championship with its first 1-2 front row since last year’s Italian GP.