F1 2017: Lewis Hamilton claims pole position at Malaysian GP
Lewis Hamilton has claimed a 70th career pole in Formula 1, after taking the top spot at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix's final qualifying session. It means that he takes a step in the direction of his fourth Formula 1 championship title, because it puts him in the running for a victory. This will have a special bearing on the championship, especially since Sebastian Vettel failed to set a time in the first qualifying session, which means he starts from the back of the grid.
Lewis Hamilton claimed a terrific 70th pole position at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix
Hamilton, meanwhile, completed Q3 with a blistering laptime of 1min 30.076sec, which put him at the front of the grid, and gave him the distinction of a new track record at the Sepang Circuit.
Second spot on the grid went to the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, who was 0.045 seconds slower than Hamilton. Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen took third spot on the grid, with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo taking fourth spot on the grid.
Valtteri Bottas took fifth spot on the grid, having set a time that was six-tenths off the pace of his team-mate. Sixth spot on the grid went to Esteban Ocon of Force India, while Stoffel Vandoorne took seventh place in his McLaren. Nico Hulkenberg took eighth on the grid for Renault, with Sergio Perez ninth in the second Force India, and Fernando Alonso tenth in the second McLaren.
Vettel lines up 20th on the grid, having failed to set a time.
