F1: Hamilton takes pole in dramatic Russian qualifying

Lewis Hamilton took a step closer to equaling the Formula One win record on Saturday by clinching pole position at the Russian Grand Prix, after narrowly avoiding early elimination when Sebastian Vettel crashed.

Hamilton charged to a trackrecord time of 1 minute, 31.304 seconds, beating the Red Bull of Max Verstappen by .563 for his fifth straight pole position. Hamilton can achieve his 91st career win in the race on Sunday, matching the record held by Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton's Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, was beaten into third by Verstappen's fast run at the end of the session and was .652 off Hamilton's time.

The long run from the grid to the first significant turn means Bottas could yet threaten to overtake Hamilton at the start Sunday using the slipstream from his teammate's car.

Bottas earned his first win at the 2017 race in Russia after starting third and overtaking the two Ferraris ahead of him at the start.

Verstappen and Bottas both start the race on medium tires, which could give them an edge in terms of pit strategy over Hamilton, who is on soft tires, which wear much faster.

Verstappen said he was delighted to start second.

Vettel lost control of his car over the kerb on the inside of the 90degree, right-hand turn four and spun into the wall, before the Ferrari bounced back onto the track. Teammate Charles Leclerc was following closely behind and narrowly missed the wrecked car, driving over its discarded front wing. Vettel's crash meant the red flag was waved while Hamilton was trying to set his first valid lap time to make the third session — after his first attempt was earlier ruled out for going off the track.