Relentless Lewis Hamilton seals pole position at Portuguese Grand Prix

Mercedes driver snatches last-gasp lead from teammate Bottas in thrilling finale

Lewis Hamilton continued his domination of the Formula One season by claiming pole position at the Portuguese Grand Prix on Saturday. EPA

Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton snatched pole position in the dying seconds of qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix on Saturday.

His jumped ahead of Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas to complete a front-row lockout as the pairs' domination of this season continued.

The pole made it 12 out of 12 for the champions and was a record-extending 97th of Hamilton's Formula One career.

It was also a bitter blow for Bottas, 69 points behind Hamilton in the championship, after the Finn had been quickest in every practice session as well as the first two stages of qualifying.

The British driver snatched the lead by just 0.102 seconds with his final lap of a nail-biting session.

Hamilton's ninth pole of the year leaves him perfectly placed to win an all-time record 92nd victory on Sunday at the Algarve circuit near Portimao.

"I can't tell you how hard that was today. Yes we've got a great car but you have to drive the nuts off it to pull out a lap," said Hamilton.

"Valtteri's been so quick this weekend, you've seen he's topped every session. So I've just been digging and digging and digging and trying to find that extra time."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen qualified third, with Charles Leclerc fourth for Ferrari in a boost for the Italian team after recent struggles.

Leclerc's team mate and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel managed only 15th, a place behind the Williams of George Russell.

"It's not just getting beaten," Vettel said. "It is almost like a different league ... I try everything I can. The laps I am satisfied with are still too slow. I try to bring the best out of myself and the car. I can't do more than that."

The running on F1's first jaunt back to Portugal in 24 years was delayed by 30 minutes following repair work to a dislodged drain cover on the exit of the penultimate corner.

Track marshals laid down fresh tarmac to keep the loose metal in place, and scoured the 2.89 miles of track for additional ill-fitting drains.

But when the action eventually started, it looked as though it would be Bottas who would carry over his fine practice form to secure his second pole in as many races.

The Finnish driver headed into qualifying with a practice clean sweep under his belt, but Hamilton executed a different strategy in Q3 by completing one extra lap than his team-mate, and taking pole.

Hamilton said: "I did three laps to give me a stab in the final session at beating Valtteri's time.

"He decided to do one and it provided me with an opportunity and it worked. That last lap just got better and better."