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Motor racing - Hamilton blasts to U.S. Grand Prix pole

rooster59

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rooster59

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Motor racing - Hamilton blasts to U.S. Grand Prix pole

By Alan Baldwin

 

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Oct 21, 2017; Austin, TX, USA; Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (44) of Great Britain during practice for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

 

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton pulverised the track record to claim pole position on Saturday ahead of a U.S. 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 in the standings with four races remaining, qualified second after producing a last-gasp effort.

 

Hamilton, chasing his fifth win in six years at the Circuit of the Americas, will be champion on Sunday if he scores 16 points more than the German. Vettel is the only other driver to have won at the Texas track.

 

The pole, in a time of one minute 33.108 seconds on a gusty afternoon, was the 72nd of Hamilton's career and 11th of the season.

 

While Mercedes look sure to clinch the constructors' championship for the fourth year in a row on Sunday, with a 145-point advantage over Ferrari, Hamilton played down his own chances of wrapping things up in America.

 

"I think it's highly unlikely that's going to be the case," the 32-year-old told the cheering crowd from the pit straight after parking up.

 

"Sebastian did a great job today to bring the Ferrari back up there. I think ultimately all I can do is do the best I can of my abilities and we are going to work as hard as I can to get maximum points.

 

"Sebastian is right there so unless he makes a silly mistake, which is unlikely as he's a four-times world champion, then we are going to be seeing it (the battle) continue on to other races."

 

Vettel's time of 1:33.347 put him ahead of Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas, who qualified third and shares the second row with Red Bull's Australian Daniel Ricciardo.

 

"My lap was very poor in Q3 (the third phase) and I knew I had to deliver," said the German of his prodigious effort to split the Silver Arrows.

 

"I got it right when it mattered at the end. It’s important to get the front row because I believe our race pace is really good."

 

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen qualified fifth with Max Verstappen sixth for Red Bull, but the Dutch 20-year-old has a 15 place grid penalty. That will lift French driver Esteban Ocon up to the third row for Force India.

 

Spain's Carlos Sainz, preparing for his first race for Renault after switching from Toro Rosso, will start seventh and alongside compatriot Fernando Alonso in the McLaren.

 

New Zealander Brendon Hartley, making his Formula One debut at Toro Rosso, will be last on the grid after qualifying 18th but with a 25 place penalty for an engine change decided on before he arrived in the team.

 

 
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-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-10-22
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cornishcarlos Platinum Member

cornishcarlos

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5 minutes ago, Thian said:

 

Max has been put in the back for changing the engine (which sucked). But it will be great to see this young guy pass all the other ones infront of him.

 

I'm patriotic, to a point, so rooting for Lewis but I also love watching Max carve his way through the pack. 

The lad has talent....

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Thian Gold Member

Thian

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2 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

I'm patriotic, to a point, so rooting for Lewis but I also love watching Max carve his way through the pack. 

The lad has talent....

One day he'll beat hamilton, it's just waiting for that day....

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Thian Gold Member

Thian

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1 hour ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

He did in Malaysia....

Oh yes, i forgot about that.

 

If he gets a better engine (which he might have now) the guy is a danger for the other drivers.

 

Hope i can stay awake untill 2 am to watch it, i'll set the alarmclock anyway.

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Baerboxer Star Member

Baerboxer

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3 minutes ago, Thian said:

Oh yes, i forgot about that.

 

If he gets a better engine (which he might have now) the guy is a danger for the other drivers.

 

Hope i can stay awake untill 2 am to watch it, i'll set the alarmclock anyway.

 

He's certainly a danger to the other drivers!

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Thian Gold Member

Thian

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1 minute ago, Baerboxer said:

 

He's certainly a danger to the other drivers!

The only thing i don't like about him is that he lives in Monaco since a year or so....as soon as he started making serious money he got his 2nd passport. But for that he has to be in Monaco for 2/3 of the year which he isn't ,so i hope they take that passport back one day.

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Basil B Ruby Member

Basil B

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9 hours ago, Thian said:

Anybody has a good link to see it online for free? I wanna see Max Verstappen win the race.

Channel 4 will be screening it live... this a free, none subscription UK channel but to view over the internet you will need to register and they block none UK IP addresses.

http://www.channel4.com/

http://f1.channel4.com/

 

As for max winning.... :cheesy::cheesy::cheesy:

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Thian Gold Member

Thian

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14 hours ago, Basil B said:

Channel 4 will be screening it live... this a free, none subscription UK channel but to view over the internet you will need to register and they block none UK IP addresses.

http://www.channel4.com/

http://f1.channel4.com/

 

As for max winning.... :cheesy::cheesy::cheesy:

Max would have won if he didn't have to start in the back and didn't get the punishment for leaving the track...

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Basil B Ruby Member

Basil B

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4 minutes ago, Thian said:

Max would have won if he didn't have to start in the back and didn't get the punishment for leaving the track...

Not so sure Max would have had to pass Lewis and Seb...

 

As for the penalty, lot of talk the stewards are inconsistent on this, certainly dragging him out of the podium waiting room must have really hurt.

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