Six-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton lived up to his rain master reputation with an astonishing lap to put his Mercedes on pole position for the first Steiermark Grand Prix at Austria's Red Bull Ring on Saturday.

In a session that started 46 minutes late after a washed out final practice, the Briton powered through the spray to go top with a time 1.216 seconds quicker than Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The pole was a record-extending 89th of Hamilton's F1 career.

McLaren's Spaniard Carlos Sainz qualified third, a career best, with Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas – winner of the season-opener from pole at the same circuit last weekend – fourth fastest.

The Finn was 1.4 seconds slower than Hamilton, who will be seeking his 85th grand prix win on Sunday, but Mercedes said he had suffered glazing on his car's front right brake disc that affected performance.

"What a tricky day," said the champion after a performance that his team boss Toto Wolff hailed as simply out of this world.

"The weather was incredibly difficult out there for all of us. A lot of the time you couldn't even see where you were going.

"I had a big aquaplane at one point – I definitely had my heart in my mouth – but I was able to improve and put in a nice, clean lap. I love these days."

The battle was between Hamilton and Verstappen, with the Dutch 22-year-old – himself pretty handy in the wet – going fastest two minutes from the end but then losing control and sliding wide.

The champion, who can move a step closer to Michael Schumacher's all-time record 91 wins on Sunday, made sure pole was his with an extraordinary final effort of one minute 19.273 seconds.

"Very rarely do you see performances that are just not from this world," said Wolff.

"When you look at the onboard from his lap, he was balancing the car on the edge, aquaplaning, throttle control was incredible."

"And I can't remember that we have seen 1.2 seconds between first and second," added the Austrian."

Upgrades did not show their worth, says Ferrari's Binotto

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel qualified 10th while teammate Charles Leclerc will start 14th after a three-place grid drop for impeding AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat.

"We have to accept that the stopwatch doesn't ever lie," said unhappy team boss Mattia Binotto.

"In two qualifying sessions, albeit in different conditions, we have not been competitive, not only against those who have been our closest rivals over the past few years, but also against others, who up to yesterday were generally behind us."

"We worked very hard to bring updates to the car earlier than planned, but they didn't show their worth on track," he said of a new front wing and floor.

"We have to work out why and change this state of affairs, which is just not good enough for a team by the name of Ferrari."

So poor was Ferrari's performance that Leclerc – on pole in Austria last year – will start behind George Russell's Williams after the Briton (11th) secured that team's highest grid position since 2018.

Ferrari have recognized design failings in their car, although the engine that was so competitive last season is also clearly part of the problem now with all three Ferrari-powered teams struggling.

"We were just not quick enough today. When I look at the gap to the cars at the front, I am quite surprised," said Leclerc.

"There's definitely some work to do."

(Cover image: Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in action during qualifying for the Styrian Grand Prix at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, July 11, 2020. /VCG)