SUZUKA, Japan, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed the pole position for the Formula One (F1) Japan Grand Prix with a dominant win in the qualifying session here on Saturday.
Hamilton set a lap record for the traditional Japanese Suzuka Circuit with 1 minute 27.319 seconds on supersofts, overtaking the 1m 28.954s absolute lap record set by Michael Schumacher in 2006.
It was the first time for Hamilton to take the pole position at Suzuka Circuit, which also marked the 71st pole of his entire career.
"Super excited...It's been ten years (since I started) trying to get that pole position and finally got it," said Hamilton.
"It's been a really good day, every lap was fantastic," he said, adding he was grateful to his team, including the engineers and all the mechanics.
Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas took the second place with 1m 27.651s, bettering Ferrari's four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel who finished his fastest lap on 1m 27.791s.
Due to a grid penalty of five places, Bottas will start in the seventh place, while Vettel moves to the second.
"Obviously we were lacking a bit of performance, but all in all I think it was a positive day," said Vettel, adding he was happy to be able to start in the front row on Sunday.
"For us, I think normally we are a bit stronger in the race compared to the qualifying game, so that's where I guess we get together and see what we can do," said the German.
With five races remaining in the 2017 calendar, Vettel is now 34 points behind Hamilton for the F1 World Championship.
Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen took the fourth and fifth places respectively, both having their fastest lap finished longer than 1m 28s.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen suffered car damage in the third practice session on Saturday and took the sixth place in the qualifying. He will start in the 11th place on Sunday due to a grid penalty.
In the history of Suzuka Circuit, 28 F1 races were held, with 13 races having the pole-sitter as the winner. But in 2005, Raikkonen started in the 17th place and miraculously won the race. Enditem
