LEW POLES A FAST ONE
Brit ready to take the fight to top dog Vettel
Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix for the second successive year as he edged out Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by 0.051 of a second.
The pole was the 64th of the Briton’s career, one short of his late Brazilian boyhood idol Ayrton Senna on the all-time list and with record holder Michael Schumacher’s 68 in his sights.
It was also the 250th by a British driver in Formula One.
All but three of the last 16 races in Spain have been won from the top slot, leaving Hamilton with every chance of taking his second victory of the season at the Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya today to cut Vettel’s 13-point lead.
The F1 triple champion said: “I’m super proud that we can get back up there. My last lap was so-so but I could see the fans cheering and all the flags.”
Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas qualified third, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen fourth.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen will line up fifth for Red Bull.
Vettel ’s car needed an engine change between final practice and qual i fying, and he praised his mechanics for their efforts in getting it all done with minutes to spare.
“They did an engine change in sub two hours,” he said. “It’s a miracle they got me out.”
On a rollercoaster afternoon, the German missed out on a second successive pole by a mere 0.051 of a second after locking up and running wide at the final chicane.
He was told to stop the car soon after qualifying had started.
But the four times world champion hesitated to obey the instruction and went on to set the fastest lap of the session before Hamilton and Raikkonen went quicker.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso, whose McLaren broke down in first practice and was slowest overall on Friday, delighted his home crowd by qualifying in seventh.
Britain’s Jolyon Palmer, yet to score this season, is 17th.
He said: “It’s tough. I really thought this weekend could be good.”