Formula 1

Hamilton gets Pole in Barcelona

Lewis Hamilton keeps in Barcelona, the nerves and beats Nico Rosberg. The German championship leader is now hoping for a Top Start from square two. Sebastian Vettel is only the third row of the grid.

Nico Rosberg has missed his anniversary Pole. Lewis Hamilton snatched the 30-year-old Mercedes team-mates on Saturday in the qualifier for the Grand Prix of Spain, the best starting place with 0,280 seconds ahead. “I’m very, very happy. The last two skills I was not able to beat Nico,” said Hamilton. For him, it is the third Pole in this year, the 52. in his career. After he had been under braking on his first quick attempt in the final, proved the 43-time Grand Prix-winner, nervous, and a stain lay a loose round on the 4,655 kilometres long course. “Of course I’m disappointed,” said Rosberg, “I’m Second, but I wanted to first.”

Vettel only Sixth

Behind the two came in, surprisingly, not the Ferrari Duo of Raikkonen with the four-time Champion Sebastian Vettel and Kimi, but the newly formed Red Bull Pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Max verse a fall. Sebastian Vettel didn’t do better than sixth behind Raikkonen. “We were not really in the running. Under the conditions we were not good enough. But tomorrow we should be better there,” said Vettel: “If we are faster than the other, it is also to the front.”

Rosberg is now on a good Start and an ideal strategy to his fifth victory in the fifth race of the season, and to celebrate the eighth success of the season across. So he would expand his lead to Hamilton is 43 points. Vettel (33) is cut off after two failures in four races.

og/ck (sid, dpa)