Lewis Hamilton edges Nico Rosberg for Brazilian GP pole as title race heats up

Lewis Hamilton enhanced his hopes of taking the title fight down to the wire on Saturday when he outpaced Mercedes teammate and championship leader Nico Rosberg to grab pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The defending world champion Hamilton, who was suffering with a cold, must stop the German from winning on Sunday to take the title race to the final grand prix of the season, at Abu Dhabi in two weeks.

It was the perfect moment for the Briton to become only the third driver ever to secure 60 Formula One pole positions, behind Hamilton’s hero Ayrton Senna (65 poles) and Michael Schumacher (68).

The three-time world champion clocked a best lap in one minute and 10.736 seconds to pip Rosberg by 0.102 seconds as the pair duelled in the final seconds of a tense qualifying session.

“Honestly, I felt quite comfortable all through qualifying as I have all weekend,” said a cool and calm Hamilton, despite suffering from a cold.

“Nico’s been going quicker and quicker, but I’ve generally had it covered. This is the best I could have hoped for coming to Brazil.