Hamilton is seeking to reduce Rosberg’s 24-point lead in the drivers’ championship after eight of this year’s 21 races. PHOTO: AFP
In a dramatic and incident-packed qualifying session, the defending three-time world champion judged his speed and tyre-selection to perfection in the changing conditions to claim the prime starting spot with a best lap in 1min 7.922sec.
It was his second successive pole in Austria, his fifth of 2016 and the 54th of his career.
His Mercedes teammate and championship leader Nico Rosberg was second fastest, but the German will start today’s race with a five-place grid penalty after a gearbox change following his crash in practice yesterday morning.
“That was a really fun session,” said Hamilton. “The first time I have driven in the wet here. It’s incredible how fast it dries up. It’s like driving through fog! It was very, very slippery, but it was drying up corner by corner — at the end it was just about getting that last lap in so I am very happy.”
Rosberg, who will start from seventh, said: “It was very exciting and I must say that team did a really unbelievable job; even Lewis’s mechanics came to help on my car.”
Another German, Nico Hulkenberg, was third fastest for Force India, but faced a visit to the stewards’ office for an earlier infringement. If he survives that, he will start from second.
Yet another German, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, was fourth for Ferrari, but he also faces a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.
Briton Jenson Button timed his intervention to perfection also to take fifth place for McLaren Honda ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari.
“I love these conditions,” he said. “Can we have them every week?”
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was seventh for Red Bull ahead of Finn Valtteri Bottas of Williams, Dutch teenager Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull and Brazilian Felipe Massa in the second Williams.
After all the penalties are applied, Hamilton is expected to start ahead of Hulkenberg on the front row with Button third in a McLaren.
Hamilton is seeking to reduce Rosberg’s 24-point lead in the drivers’ championship after eight of this year’s 21 races. Rosberg is seeking to complete a hat-trick of successive wins in Austria.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2016.
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