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SUZUKA, Japan (Reuters) – Lewis Hamilton qualified his run to perfection to take the 80th pole of the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, while his rival Ferrari Sebastian Vettel qualified only ninth.
Formula 1 F1 – Japanese Grand Prix – Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan – October 6, 2018 Lewis Hamilton, of Mercedes, celebrates the pole position of the Japanese Grand Prix after qualifying for REUTERS / Toru Hanai
The Mercedes driver ran the super soft tires in 27,760 seconds in a minute while he was just spitting in the rain.
His team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who beat Hamilton on pole at the last race in Russia, secured Mercedes a second consecutive lock-lock on the front row with a 0.299-second spin from Briton's 33-year-old pace.
Meanwhile, Ferrari made the wrong choice of tires and was overtaken by the rain, preventing anyone from improving their times.
"It's so difficult when the pressure is on making the right choice, but it's the big difference between us this year and that's why we're the best and the team deserves it," he said. Hamilton.
Vettel and Ferrari failed to keep pace with Hamilton throughout the weekend, with the championship leader completing many trials.
The German, who has four times champion Hamilton, 50 points in five races of the end, needs a miracle to revive his hopes of title in Formula 1 after his worst qualifying of the season.
Second and third of the first two games, Vettel was surprised by Ferrari's decision to equip its cars with intermediate tires in the final phase instead of slick tires.
But while the track was still dry, the German and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen had to come back directly to equip the super soft tires.
Vettel ran away on his first attempt with dry tires, leaving him only one shot in a quick lap. The rain then arrived before he could set a competitive time.
"This is not the position in which we deserve to be, we have better speed than the ninth, but tomorrow is a new day. It's not easy to go back further, but it's not impossible, "said the unfortunate German.
Max Verstappen qualified third for Red Bull and Raikkonen fourth after getting a lap on his first try. Romain Grosjean was fifth for Haas.
New Zealander Brendon Hartley and his French team-mate Pierre Gasly finished sixth and seventh in a dream result for Toro Rosso, powered by Honda, at the Japanese engine manufacturer's home race.
Esteban Ocon finished eighth for Force India, with team-mate Sergio Perez finishing in the top 10.
Hamilton has won five of the last six races and is already in a position where he no longer needs to win this year to win the title.
The Briton also won pole since Japan last year.
Edited by Alan Baldwin and Amlan Chakraborty
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