Hamilton on pole for inaugural Qatar F1 Grand Prix

DOHA: Britain’s Lewis Hamilton will start from pole in Sunday’s inaugural Qatar Formula One Grand Prix ahead of world championship rival Max Verstappen.

Hamilton of Mercedes clocked one minute 20.827 seconds on the Losail International Circuit which in the past has only seen MotoGP racing.

It was Hamilton’s fourth pole of the season and a record-extending 102nd overall.

Red Bull’s Verstappen trailed by almost half a second, a difference team adviser Helmut Marko called “alarming”.

Valtteri Bottas was third in the second Mercedes.

Verstappen tops the championship, 14 points ahead of Hamilton with three races left in a fierce title duel, and Hamilton will hope that his pole will help him further cut the deficit on Sunday.