Over roaring Tigers for Diamonds
CHAMPIONSHIP leader Sebastian Vettel has laid down the title gauntlet to Lewis Hamilton after beating his rival to pole position in Azerbaijan.
Vettel, nine points clear of Hamilton in the standings, finished 0.179 seconds clear of the Mercedes driver to secure his third pole in as many races.
Hamilton arrived in Baku without a victory from the opening three rubbers, but against the backdrop of Bernie Ecclestone’s claim that the Brit is no longer the racer he once was, he will be relieved to start alongside Vettel on the front row.
Hamilton also out-qualified his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas for the first time since the season-opening race in Australia. Bottas lines up in third.
Hamilton, 33, has been sluggish in recent grands prix, leading Formula One’s former overlord Ecclestone to suggest the sport’s defending champion was “fed-up” and “not the racer he was”.
But the Mercedes driver, who has not tasted victory since October’s United States Grand Prix, delivered a good, James Shanes, who scored 10 at Redcar on Friday, so they are a team of talented scorers.
“Having said that, all our lads know Brough Park like the back of their hands and have been firing well at home this year, so if we can get our heads and hearts up and need the win more than anything then even Sheffield could go away with fewer points than ourselves, but it will be our toughest test yet at home, and we need to be solidly on our game from the start of heat one to the chequered flag of heat 15 Vettel claimed pole in Baku by 0.179s over Hamilton response of sorts to qualify alongside Vettel.
Vettel, 30, proved too good for Hamilton with his opening flying lap at the Baku City Circuit enough to take the spoils.
In the closing moments, Vettel’s Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen appeared on course to take his first pole in nearly a year only to make a mistake in the final sector and cross the line sixth fastest.
Daniel Ricciardo, a winner last time out in China and here in Azerbaijan last year, will line up in fourth, one place ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen.
“That was close and we did the best job we could,” Hamilton said. “I lost a little bit in the last sector but Sebastian did a good job and they have a phenomenal car this year. with no let up from anyone.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming back Lewis Rose for his first home match since his injury and Tero from his Russian meeting midweek, but unfortunately Stuart Robson is still out after surgery on his broken fingers, with the very busy former Diamond, Lewis Kerr, taking the guest booking and will take Robbo’s four rides.”
Ashley Morris (runner-up in the last two Diamond of the Year polls) is fast becoming the rider of the moment in the ranks with top
“We are in the mix. This is the fifth best track to overtake so I am going to try and give Sebastian a hard time tomorrow.”
Vettel added: “It will be an intense race as anything can happen with the safety cars.
“Our car was good this afternoon so we should be in a good place. When it clicks it keeps coming and it was really enjoyable. We got pole so we can’t be much happier with the way the day went.”
McLaren’s poor campaign continued with Stoffel Vandoorne failing to make it out of the opening phase. The Belgian will start from 16th while Fernando Alonso could manage only 13th.
Tim Goss was removed from his position as the team’s chief technical officer earlier this week, and further managerial changes could be forthcoming.
Racing director Eric Boullier bore a concerned expression in McLaren’s hospitality suite in the moments before qualifying, and his mood is unlikely to have improved following yet another dismal showing. There was some encouragement, however, for another under-performing British team with Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin 11th and 12th in Williams’ best qualifying performance from a so far pointless year. scoring performance in every match to become the mainstay of his team’s fortunes, and if the rest can hit the consistency button at the same time, then success could be on the cards tonight, but it will be one of the hardest fought matches of year and a must-see event.