Hamilton is still the raining champion

LEWIS HAMILTON showed precisely why he is world champion with his mastery of wet conditions to take pole at the Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.

In a session that started 46 minutes late due to heavy rain that washed out final practice, the Briton powered through the spray in a time 1.2 seconds quicker than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The six-time world champion (right) showed why he is the defending champion with his stunning performance for Mercedes and he said: “What a tricky day.

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 love these days.”

Mclaren’s Carlos Sainz will line up third with Hamilton’s Finnish team-mate Valtteri Bottas – winner of the season-opener at the same circuit last weekend – fourth fastest. Hamilton added: “I hear for the race it’s going to be a much more sunny day and we have prepared for both conditions.”

The start of qualifying was delayed by 46 minutes as a storm front hit the Styrian mountains, but Hamilton was the man to beat once the cars took to a streaming wet track.

In the wettest conditions seen in a qualifying session for some time, Hamilton was fastest in all three sessions, underlining the wet-weather skills he has shown through out his career.

Verstappen threw everything at Hamilton on his final lap before losing control completely with a spin at Turn Nine.

Ferrari had another dismal day with Sebastian Vettel tenth and team-mate Charles Leclerc one further place behind on the grid.