(SATSports) – Lewis Hamilton clinched pole position on Saturday ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday, making it the 100th pole of his career.
The British Mercedes driver clocked a time of 1:16.741, some 0.036s ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who will begin in second place.
Hamilton’s Mercedes’ teammate Valtteri Bottas clocked a third-best time of 1:16.873, and will start in the second row alongside Ferrari’s Charles Lecrec who set a time of 1:17.510.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon will start the race in fifth, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in that order.
Having managed to lock down his 100thpole position, Hamilton hailed the moment as a dream come true.
“I can’t believe we are at 100. It’s down to the men and women back at the factory continuously raising the bar and just never giving up. The support that I have, it’s been a dream for me to work with these guys. And the journey we’ve been on has been immense,” the 36-year-old said.
“Who would have thought in 2013 or the end of 2012 when we made the decision to partner we would have been qualifying at 100? So, I feel very humble. I am ecstatic. It’s like my first.”
Hamilton goes into Sunday’s race eight points ahead of Verstappen, who is seen as his biggest challenger this season.
Norris is currently in third place, some 24 points behind the top duo.
