Hamilton takes pole position at US F1
October 22, 2017
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, this year's favorite to win the Formula One title, dominated the last qualifying round on Saturday to claim pole position for Sunday's US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
The Briton, who had already beaten the track record multiple times in previous rounds, beat Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by 0.239 seconds in his 72nd pole with a time of 1 minute 33.108 seconds.
"The team have done a great job, the track was very difficult with the wind picking up," Hamilton said. "But I love this track it is such a fantastic track to drive, I love it."
Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton's Mercedes teammate, took third place in Saturday's qualifying, with Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull taking fourth place at the Circuit of Americas. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took fifth ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Force India's Esteban Ocon, Renault's Carlos Sainz, McLaren's Fernando Alonso, and Force India's Sergio Perez.
Hamilton could clinch his fourth Formula One title on Sunday if the Briton scores 16 points more than Vettel. He is already 59 points ahead of Vettel in the standings.
Read more: Formula One: What has to happen for Lewis Hamilton to win the title in Austin
The Mercedes driver said the German's ability meant he could not assume he would clinch the title on Sunday.
"Sebastian is right there and unless he makes a silly mistake, which is unlikely - he is a four-time world champion - we will see it going on," he said.
amp/aw (dpa, Reuters)