Lewis Hamilton blasts to US Grand Prix pole

TIL Desk Sports/ Lewis Hamilton pulverised the track record to claim pole position on Saturday ahead of a US Grand Prix that could secure the Mercedes driver’s fourth Formula One world championship.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, the Briton’s closest rival but 59 points behind with four races remaining, qualified second with a prodigious effort just when it seemed Mercedes would sweep the front row.

Hamilton, chasing his fifth win in six years at the Circuit of the Americas, dominated every phase of qualifying and will be champion on Sunday if he scores 16 points more than the German.

“I love this track, it is such a fantastic track to drive,” he said. “It’s going to be a great race, a tough one, but I’m the best prepared I can be.”

Vettel is the only other driver to have won at the Texas track and will do everything he can to deny the Briton a 62nd victory but will also be haunted by two retirements in the last three races.

Hamilton’s pole, in a time of one minute 33.108 seconds on a gusty afternoon, was the 72nd of his career and 11th of the season. It also allowed him to claim another of Michael Schumacher’s all-time Formula One records with an unprecedented 117th front row start.