Le Castellet (France): Lewis Hamilton timed his best lap to perfection on Saturday when he took pole position ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas with a blistering late effort at the French Grand Prix.
The five-time world champion, who had struggled to match the Finn's pace in the previous two practice sessions, reeled off a fastest lap in one minute and 28.319 seconds.
It was the 86th pole of his career for Hamilton, who won last year's race from pole, and a record-increasing 63rd front-row lock-out for Mercedes. Hamilton has taken 60 of his poles with Mercedes.
It was a master-class from the dominant Silver Arrows team while their rivals laboured in pursuit, with Monegasque Charles Leclerc taking third for Ferrari ahead of Max Verstappen, fourth for Red Bull.
British rookie Lando Norris impressed with a fine effort to take fifth ahead of his resurgent McLaren team-mate Carlos Sainz and, surprisingly, a despondent Sebastian Vettel down in seventh in the second Ferrari after a gearbox issue during Q3.
-Agence France Presse
