Lewis Hamilton takes his TENTH pole position of the season for the Bahrain Grand Prix after winning his seventh world title… with team-mate Valtteri Bottas second and Max Verstappen third
- Lewis Hamilton’s dominant pole position was the 98th of his career
- Brit was over three tenths of a second quicker than team-mate Valtteri Bottas
- Max Verstappen in the Red Bull was third fastest following qualifying
- Hamilton’s dominance saw him a full second faster than the rest of the field
- Latest Formula One news, live action and results can be found right here
Lewis Hamilton started life as a seven-time world champion in perfect fashion by taking a dominant pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in front of team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
The Brit, who matched Michael Schumacher’s record of seven championships last time out in Turkey, stormed to his tenth pole of the season and the 98th of his career finishing nearly three tenths of a second quicker than the Finn.
Max Verstappen was the only other driver within a second of Mercedes duo to round off the top three…
More to follow.
Lewis Hamilton will be aiming to start his reign as a seven-time world champion in typical dominating fashion as he attempts to land pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Brit, who secured the title last time out in Turkey, dominated Friday’s running in Sakhir which saw him largely around half-a-second faster than his rivals, and he will be favourite to land a 10th pole in qualifying
Follow Sportsmail’s DAN RIPLEY for live F1 coverage of qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix which gets underway from 2pm GMT.