Lewis Hamilton claims pole position for title showdown

Published on 26 Nov 2016 15:01

By: Dominik Wilde

Lewis Hamilton has beaten Nico Rosberg to pole position for the championship-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton's fastest lap of one minute 38.755 seconds was three tenths of a second quicker than Rosberg.

It was Hamilton's 12th pole position of the season - a personal record - as opposed to Rosberg's eight. Both drivers are locked on nine race wins apiece, however.

Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest for Red Bull, eight tenths of a second off the pole time, while the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top five.

Max Verstappen will line up sixth for tomorrow's season finale, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, competing in his final race for Force India, and Sergio Perez.

Former Ferrari team mates Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa - racing for the final time this weekend, were the last of the Q3 runners.

Massa's Williams team mate Valtteri Bottas just missed out on the final part of qualifying. He will start 11th, ahead of Jenson Button - another driver retiring after this weekend - Esteban Gutierrez, and Romain Grosjean.

Jolyon Palmer and Manor's Pascal Wehrlein were the final two drivers in the second session, while Daniil Kvyat, who has endured a torrid weekend so far, Kevin Magnussen, Felipe Nasr, Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, and Marcus Ericsson went out in the first part of qualifying.