Hamilton takes pole position

19 March 2016 by News Desk   |   SHARE  

Lewis Hamilton went 0.360 seconds faster than Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg to grab pole position with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel qualifying third.

While the drivers battled for pole position F1 teams, race officials, media and motorsport fans were busy judging the new qualifying rules. And the majority view is: ‘F1 you got it wrong’.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said he was sorry the new format was a failure. “It didn’t really work. We have not really put on a show,” he said.

The new system involved the slowest car being knocked out every 90 seconds in the second part of each of three sessions.

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone admitted the new format had not worked and says he will now be seeking changes to make qualifying more exciting for live fans and TV viewers.

Rosberg is second on the grid ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, who will start third and fourth.

Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz are fifth and seventh, split by Williams driver Felipe Massa.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and the Force India’s of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg complete the top 10.

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are 12th and 13th on the grid and Jolyon Palmer is 14th for Renault ahead of team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

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