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Lewis Hamilton is delighted to have taken yet another pole position after an "intense" qualifying battle. The Mercedes driver set a time of 1:19.149 to take his third pole in five races.
It wasn't easy for him, however, as Sebastian Vettel was hot on his heels. The German's fastest lap was only half a tenth away from the top spot, suggesting that the new upgrades brought this weekend will not disrupt the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari going forward.
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"No doubt that we potentially were maybe a tenth ahead of the Ferraris, then in Q3 it seemed that we were a lot closer," he said. "We knew it'd be quite intense for us, made some changes going into qualifying, the car felt great, I was very happy with it.
"The Q1 lap was very, very difficult, Q2 lap was so-so, but good enough, the first lap in Q3 was very good. On the second lap was up, lost two-tenths and didn't finish it in the way I should, but still, it was good enough to keep me in."
Hamilton's pole moves him within five of overtaking Michael Schumacher's record on the all-time list. With the Mercedes looking as quick as it has done so far, Hamilton could be well on his way to breaking that record later in the season.
Fergal Walsh
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f1fan0101
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Good lap from him, Seb looks close.. should be exciting tomorrow