Lewis Hamilton holds off Ferrari pair to take pole position for British Grand Prix

The four-time world champion edges out Sebastian Vettel by 0.044 seconds to take his 76th pole

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 on track during qualifying for the Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone on July 7, 2018 in Northampton, England.  (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
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Lewis Hamilton came out on top of a thrilling duel with Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen to take pole position for Sunday's British Grand Prix.

The Mercedes-GP driver, bidding to win the race for a record sixth time, had been slower than championship leader Vettel after their first runs in the final part of qualifying.

But a lap record of 1 minute, 25.892 seconds around the Silverstone track saw him beat Vettel by 0.044 seconds and claim his 76th career pole position, with Raikkonen fractionally slower as he was 0.098 seconds behind.

Hamilton has won the race the past four years, and in 2008 as well, and he shares the record for most victories in the event on five at present with Jim Clark and Alain Prost.

If Hamilton is triumphant on Sunday he will also regain the championship lead, which he lost to Vettel in Austria last weekend, as he trails the German by one point.

The two Red Bull Racing cars of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were fifth and sixth, ahead of the two Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean.

Sunday's race, which is 52 laps in length, begins at 5.10pm UAE time.

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