Sebastian Vettel labelled his stunning performance during qualifying for the German Grand Prix as one the best of his career.

The Ferrari driver turned on the style in the final round of qualifying at Hockenheim, taking pole from Valtteri Bottas in the closing seconds with a lap record.

It puts the German on the front row for Sunday's race and in prime position to extend his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton.

The pair are only separated by eight points after 10 races, but, with Hamilton jettisoned towards the back of the grid after a hydraulic problem, that could become a much healthier cushion.

Unsurprisingly Vettel was delighted with the performance of his car, and believes the work done behind the scenes puts him in a good position to end Ferrari's 11-year title drought.

"You always try to do your best every day. It has been one of those days, the car was fantastic," he said.

"I could feel it in Q1 already and then in Q3 I knew I could get a good lap.

"Racing here in Germany means a lot to me and hopefully we can get first place tomorrow.

"We built a strong car and we know there's still potential. Also, we know we can still improve race by race, because there's still some weaknesses, but overall we are competitive and strong.

"So, it's up to us to make good use of this potential everywhere we go."