Lewis Hamilton secures pole for Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel fourth - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Lewis Hamilton secures pole for Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel fourth

Agence France-Presse, Baku | ByAgence France-Presse
Jun 24, 2017 08:21 PM IST

Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix as he pipped his team-mate Valtteri Bottas while championship leader Sebastian Vettel slipped to fourth spot.

Lewis Hamilton snatched pole position for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix after eclipsing Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas on his final qualifying lap on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton secured the pole position in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while his team-mate Valtteri Bottas secured second position while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third.(REUTERS)
Lewis Hamilton secured the pole position in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while his team-mate Valtteri Bottas secured second position while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third.(REUTERS)

The three-time world champion starts ahead of Bottas with Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, the championship leader, occupying the second row of the grid.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Hamilton claimed the 66th pole of his career, pulling clear of Brazilian great Ayrton Senna’s mark and leaving the Briton just two shy of Michael Schumacher’s record of 68.

The 32-year-old bounced back from a frustrating practice outing on Friday to clinch his fifth pole in eight races this season as Mercedes locked out the front row.

Hamilton’s quickest lap of 1min 40.593sec came in the final seconds of the session following a red-flagged stoppage which turned the finale into a 3min 30sec showdown.

“I am so pumped - that’s how qualifying should be,” said an ecstatic Hamilton, who was more than a second off the pace on Friday. “It is going to be a long hard race, but it’s the best place to start.”

Bottas, who had been fastest in Q3 until Hamilton’s stunning final lap, admitted he was disappointed.

“The lap, in the end, wasn’t quite perfect, I was struggling the front left temperature and Lewis then did his lap! It’s disappointing, but second place is not bad.”

Hamilton is 12 points behind Vettel in the championship after seven races.

Max Verstappen was fifth for Red Bull ahead of the two Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, Canadian teenager Lance Stroll who was eighth ahead of his Williams team-mate Felipe Massa and Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who crashed his Red Bull to engage the red flag and create the final drama.

Catch all the Latest IPL 2024 news and Live Cricket Score along with WPL Schedule and WPL Points Table related updates on Hindustan Times Website and APPs
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On