Hamilton has won pole for the Brazilian GP 2016 after dominating qualifying today. The Brit was fastest in all three sessions, teammate Rosberg will start alongside him from the front row in P2. Raikkonen will start from P3 after an incredible last minute lap that saw the Ferrari man deny Verstappen a podium even though the young Red Bull driver was third fastest in all three sessions bar the final run.

Rosberg leads the standings with 349 points away from Hamilton’s 330 points, Ricciardo is further down in third with 242 points.

Brazilian GP 2016 Qualifying Top Ten

1. Hamilton – Mercedes
2. Rosberg – Mercedes
3. Raikkonen – Ferrari
4. Verstappen – Red Bull
5. Vettel – Ferrari
6. Ricciardo – Red Bull
7. Grosjean – Haas F1
8. Hulkenberg – Force India
9. Perez – Force India
10. Alonso – McLaren

The Brazilian GP 2016 could be a title decider with Rosberg – current points leader – being the most likely winner. For Felipe Massa, the Williams man will be taking part in his final home race this weekend as he retires after this season. Between 1982 and 1990, Alain Prost won six Brazilian GP titles, making him the most successful driver in Brazilian GP history. He is followed closely by Michael Schumacher with four wins. McLaren leads the manufacturer’s category with 12 wins, Ferrari is not too far away with 10 wins.

Hamilton had been fastest on Friday while Rosberg set the pace for Saturday’s morning FP3. There was a 70% chance of rain during the session, but there was even more trouble in the Ferrari garage as they tried to get Vettel’s car ready. Sauber had a similar issue and were working against time to get Ericsson’s car ready for qualifying.

The Mercedes cars were the first to head out in Q1, and everyone was watching the rain. Hamilton set the pace with a 1m11.511s while Rosberg slotted into second. At this point, all cars were on soft tires. Verstappen and Raikkonen went third and fourth respectively. The Mercedes drivers stayed in after the first stint in a move to save the tires.

Meanwhile, Vettel’s car was finally out after staying in the pits with a technical problem, his first lap put him in fifth behind Raikkonen. Ricciardo was sixth followed by Bottas, Massa, Alonso and Grosjean.

Eliminated in Q1 were Button, Magnussen, Wehrlein, Ocon, Ericsson and Nasr. The top ten comprised of Hamilton, Rosberg, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Vettel, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Massa, Bottas and Perez.

Hamilton and Rosberg were out first in Q2, and it was Hamilton who set the pace again this time keying in a 1m11.238s lap. The order didn’t change that much, Rosberg took second followed by Verstappen but this time Vettel split the two Red Bulls by taking fourth. Ricciardo settled for fifth after that first stint.

Just like Q1, the drivers were all on softs, Hamilton’s lap was even quicker than last year’s pole time.

The top six stayed in after the first runs while the rest of the field ventured out for a final lap. Bottas, Gutierrez, Massa, Kvyat, Sainz and Palmer were eliminated in this session. The top ten comprised of Hamilton, Rosberg, Verstappen, Vettel, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Alonso, Perez, Grosjean and Hulkenberg.

Hamilton did not waste time into Q3 either, the defending world champion is quite vigilant this weekend. As the Mercedes was making its way into the track, Hulkenberg cried out after lack of power in his Force India. Meanwhile, Hamilton still stole the show again to set the fastest time on 1m10.860s.

Rosberg went second leading a pack of Verstappen, Vettel, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Perez.

After the second run in Q3, Hamilton was still faster after setting a 1m10.736s lap, Rosberg improved but only good for P2. Raikkonen came in third after a perfect last minute lap to edge out Verstappen who split the Ferrari drivers by taking fourth, Vettel was fifth.

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