Hamilton clinches pole at Mugello

Sports Desk, Sep 12 (efe-epa).- Lewis Hamilton will start the Tuscan Grand Prix from pole position, ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The English driver extended his own career pole position record on Saturday, which now stands at 95. He will start from the front of the grid at the Mugello circuit near Florence after notching a fastest time of one minutes 15 second and 144 milliseconds in qualifying.

Hamilton said: “This track is phenomenal. It’s a really challenging circuit. I’ve been working so hard in the background to improve on my lines and set up. I finally got the lap I needed.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start in third in the second row next to his teammate Alexander Albon.

Commenting after qualifying, Verstappen said: “So far, this weekend has been really promising. To be third here in qualifying we can be really proud of that. The track is amazing to drive.”

Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez qualified to start in sixth place but was relegated to seventh because of a sanction he picked up for tagging Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen while exiting the pit-lane in the free practice sessions. Racing Point’s Lance Stroll will leave off in sixth place instead, next to Charles Leclerc in fifth, whose team Ferrari is celebrating its 1000th Grand Prix.

Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo will start in eight, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz will in ninth and his teammate Esteban Ocon in 10th.

Last week’s Italian Grand Prix winner, Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly didn’t make the top 10 and will start from 16th.

The grid for Sunday’s Tuscan Grand Prix is as follows:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)      

2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)