Hamilton on pole for Austrian Grand Prix
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton en route to taking pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Austria at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton en route to taking pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Austria at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton sped through the rain and sunshine with perfect timing in his Mercedes on Saturday to secure pole position for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The defending three-time world champion judged his speed and his tyre selection to perfection in challenging and changing conditions, claiming 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 team-mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg was second fastest, but the German will start Sunday’s race with a five-place grid penalty after a gearbox change following his crash in practice on Saturday morning. Another German, Nico Hulkenberg, was third fastest for Force India, but faced a visit to the stewards’ office for an earlier infringement.
Sebastian Vettel was fourth for Ferrari, but he also faces a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.