LEWIS HAMILTON HELD his nerve to grab pole position ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg for Sunday’s British Grand Prix with a spectacular lap in the final seconds of an intense qualifying session.
The defending three-time world champion, who had his first flying run in Q3 deleted because he ran off the track, outpaced the championship leader and his rival Rosberg with a lap in 1:29.287.
This lifted him clear of the German by three-tenths of a second and ensured they start together on the front row again, a week after their last-lap crash in Austria, where Hamilton seized a controversial victory.
It was in-form Hamilton’s fourth pole at the British Grand Prix, his sixth this season, and the 55th of his career.
“I had touched the kerb and the car bottomed and that pulled me wide,” Hamilton explained of his disqualified lap.
“So there was a lot of pressure on that last lap and I just knew I couldn’t let the guys -– or the fans -– down,” added Hamilton, who is closing on the 11-point gap to Rosberg at the top of the championship.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen was third fastest ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo of Australia, Finn Kimi Raikkonen and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, both of Ferrari, with Finn Valtteri Bottas of Williams seventh.
Vettel, however, will start 11th after taking a five-place penalty for a gearbox change.
German Nico Hulkenberg was eighth for Force India ahead of the two Spaniards Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso and two-time champion Fernando Alonso in the resurgent McLaren.
Like Hamilton, Alonso had his best lap deleted for “exceeding the track limits”, an action that dropped him from eighth to 10th.
Qualifying, which was run in cool, windy and cloudy conditions, saw an early elimination for McLaren’s Jenson Button in front of his home crowd.
And Swede Marcus Ericsson in the second Sauber did not take part following his massive crash in final practice earlier on Saturday. He was sent to hospital as a precautionary measure but did not appear badly hurt.
Button, the 2009 world champion, had been unable to make a second run due to technical problems and was given a standing ovation by the crowd. In 16 seasons, he has never finished on the podium.
In Q2, the Silver Arrows of Mercedes led the way again and, after Rosberg clocked 1:29.970, Hamilton immediately smashed the circuit lap record with a lap in 1:29.243.
On their first runs in Q3, Hamilton was fastest again by three-tenths ahead of Rosberg, to the delight of his home support, whose applause was abruptly halted when the champion’s lap was deleted because he had run off track at Copse Corner.
This relegated Hamilton to a lowly 10th, but he was soon out again with less than three minutes remaining –- and responded under pressure with a searing lap to grab pole.
- (c) AFP 2016
