Lewis Hamilton equalled Michael Schumacher's record for most pole positions in Formula One after clocking the quickest time in qualifying for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
The three-time world champion's lap of 1 minute, 42.907 seconds around Spa-Francorchamps proved too good for the rest of the field as he took his seventh top spot of the season.
HAM: "To come here and put a lap together like that... I've got the best job in the world" #Quali #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/L9Jv5zof7p
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 26, 2017
The Briton, who is 14 points adrift of championship leader Sebastian Vettel, has won twice before at Spa in 2010 and 2015.
Vettel's Ferrari was second fastest thanks to a strong final lap of the session, and the four-time world champion was 0.2 seconds off Hamilton's pace.
POLLLLLLLEEEEEE! @LewisHamilton equals the great Michael Schumacher's 68 @F1 poles #BelgianGP @F1 pic.twitter.com/y07NZt5jAq
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) August 26, 2017
Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas was third fastest, ahead of the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, with the Red Bull Racing pair of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo locking out the third row.
Fernando Alonso was 11th for McLaren, who again were hampered by a lack of power in their Honda power unit.
Q2 complete. Fernando P11, Stoff P15. A great bit of teamwork again on the tow, just hampered by the issue at the end. #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/vv5VgXWyi0
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 26, 2017
Teammate Stoffel Vandoorne was 15th, but will start last after earning a 65-place grid penalty due to a number of parts of his engine being replaced before qualifying.
The Belgian Grand Prix, the 12th round of the 20-race season, begins at 4pm on Sunday UAE time.
