German Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg pips Lewis Hamilton to pole

Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg (right) and championship leader Lewis Hamilton after the qualifying session for Sunday’s German Formula One Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring racetrack on Saturday.(Photo: AFP)

Nico Rosberg beat Mercedes teammate and Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton to take pole position for Sunday’s German Grand Prix.

Rosberg was the fastest in all three practice runs and set the pace again in the final of the three qualifying sessions Saturday, putting together just one late lap after experiencing problems with the throttle.

“A great lap, especially since I had extra fuel, I had fuel for three laps in case something went wrong and I had to do an extra lap,” Rosberg said after his 26th career pole.

Hamilton was .107 seconds behind Rosberg, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen taking the second row on the grid in their Red Bulls. The Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel will be in the third row.

Three-time world champion Hamilton, winner of the last two titles, has won five of the last six races and leads Rosberg by six points in the standings.

Rosberg won the last race here in 2014 from pole. This was his fifth pole of the season.

He also started from pole in Hungary last Sunday but was beaten to the first turn by Hamilton, who went on to win the race and take over the lead in the standings.

The two Red Bulls managed to finish ahead of both the Ferrari cars.

Ricciardo’s teammate Verstappen is the only driver to win a race this season apart from Rosberg and Hamilton.