Lewis Hamilton takes pole in China
Lewis Hamilton roared to pole position in qualifying for Sunday’s Chinese Formula One Grand Prix as Mercedes seek to avenge a season opening defeat to Ferrari.
Issued on:
The British driver, beaten by Sebastian Vettel a fortnight ago in Melbourne, saw off his German rival by two tenths of a second in Shanghai as Valtteri Bottas took third in the other Mercedes car and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen ended fourth quickest.
Hamilton jumped onto the pit wall to soak up the adulation of the crowd after clocking the fastest lap of one minute, 31.678 seconds to give the former world champion his fourth Chinese pole in five years.
“We knew that it was going to be close and we had to pull out all the stops,” said Hamilton.
“The Ferraris have looked so fast but I managed to just chip away. It is exciting for me because we really fight with these guys,” added Hamilton, who has been victorious on four previous occasions in Shanghai
“That is what racing is all about. It really pushes you to raise the bar each time you go out there.”
Vettel was left shaking his head in disbelief.
“I do not believe that, it was the perfect lap,” said the four-time world champion, who looked unstoppable in Saturday’s practice run.
“Maybe I chickened on the brakes slightly on the last lap. But I think we can still improve, so let us see what the race looks like. Conditions will be different.”
Rain is forecast in China for race day as qualifying points to another ferocious battle between Ferrari and Mercedes.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo starts fifth on the grid and the highest qualifying French racer was Haas F1's Romain Grosjean in 17th.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe