Lewis Hamilton will start the Korean Grand Prix from pole position after a brilliant Formula One qualifying performance on Saturday to end the domination of Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team.
Hamilton, who was quickest throughout the hour, clocked a fastest lap of one minute and 35.820 seconds in his McLaren on his second flying run around the Korean International Circuit to leave double World champion Vettel chasing a time he could not match.
The Englishman ended up fastest by two-tenths of a second to claim his first pole for more than a year, the 19th of his career, and answer his critics after a troubled run of inconsistent results and five races without a podium finish.
Vettel, 24, who had reeled off five poles in a row — and 12 in all this season — ended up second on the grid. It was the first time this season that a Red Bull driver had not taken pole position.
Flamboyant best
Hamilton looked to be back to his flamboyant best in the car, but his set jaw and silence as he completed his lap and climbed out spoke of a grim determination to finish the job in Sunday's 55-lap race. Vettel, who sealed his second World championship in Japan last weekend, said he was happy to have preserved his tyres for the race.
Hamilton's McLaren teammate and compatriot Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, was third fastest ahead of Australian Mark Webber in the second Red Bull and the two Ferraris of Brazilian Felipe Massa and two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso.
Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, 42, was eliminated in the second round of qualifying as the Force India cars of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil pushed their way into the top 10 shootout. Schumacher will start the race from 12th.
The results: Top 10:
1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1 minute, 35.820 seconds; 2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1:36.042; 3. Jenson Button (McLaren), 1:36.126; 4. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1:36.468; 5. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 1:36.831; 6. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 1:36.980; 7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 1:37.754; 8. Vitaly Petrov (Renault), 1:38.124; 9. Paul di Resta (Force India), no time set; 10. Adrian Sutil (Force India), no time set.
