MANAMA – Seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix with a record lap in Saturday’s qualifying session, ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas who completed a front-row lockout for Mercedes.
The Briton lapped the 5.4-kilometer floodlit Sakhir desert track in one minute 27.264 seconds, beating his Finnish teammate by 0.289 seconds.
Max Verstappen took third place for Red Bull.
It was the 98th pole of Hamilton’s career and puts him on course to complete a century, with the Bahrain race the first of a season-ending Middle Eastern triple-header.
It was his 10th pole this season and third in Bahrain, putting him level w…
Keep on reading: Hamilton puts in record lap to take Bahrain pole