Lewis Hamilton grabs pole position for Bahrain GP after record lap

Mercedes secure 11th front row lockout of the season

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton steps out of his car after the qualifying session for the Bahrain GP. AFP

Newly-crowned world champion Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix with a record-breaking qualifying lap.

The Briton, 35, clocked an all-time track record lap in one minute and 27.264 seconds to outpace his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.289 seconds, the pair delivering Mercedes' 11th front row lockout of the season.

It was Hamilton's record-increasing 98th career pole position. With two races to go, Hamilton could reach a total of 100 pole positions at the final race while he is also seeking to increase his total of wins from 10 to a record-equalling 13 triumphs.

Max Verstappen was third ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Alex Albon, who on Saturday made a remarkable recovery in a car built with a new chassis overnight following his heavy crash in second practice on Friday.

Sergio Perez was fifth for Racing Point ahead of the Renault pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, with Pierre Gasly eighth for Alpha Tauri.

Lando Norris was ninth for McLaren and Daniil Kvyat 10th in the second Alpha Tauri.

"I think with the pressure a little bit off, it was a release to go and drive like that," said Hamilton. "I am on the ragged edge, naturally, and it is about trying to find that perfect balance and chipping away.

"The lap started well, but a little bit of time was lost in Turn 1. Otherwise, it was a very clean lap so I was really happy with it."

Bottas said: "It felt good, and that's the problem! You feel you are extracting everything from the car, so that is the most confusing part. It is small things here and there, not one clear corner."

Verstappen also felt his lap was satisfactory, if not quite good enough.

"It was pretty good, just lacking a bit of rear grip in the low-speed corner, but overall a decent qualifying.

"Let's see how we get on in the race as it is very hard on tyres, but I think we have prepared for that. Mercedes picked up their pace today."

Meanwhile, Hamilton and other drivers have been complaining about the new Pirelli tires, which they are testing ahead of 2021, saying they are too heavy and Vettel calling them even worse than before.

“It is three kilos heavier and it’s about one second slower per lap,” Hamilton said. “If that’s the best they can do, it’s better we stick with this [current] tire.”

Sebastian Vettel agreed with Hamilton to keep the 2020 tire for next year, rather than switch to the unpopular 2021 model.

“It will make the problems we struggle with now worse,” he said.

Because of the lack of grip on the new range of tires, Verstappen joked that the championship could become “a drift challenge” if manufacturer Pirelli uses the 2021 tires as planned.

“I hope they listen a bit to the drivers,” Verstappen said. “I hope we will not use them.”