Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has secured his first pole position around the Sakhir International circuit ahead of Sunday’s Bahrain grand prix.

The double world champion will share the front row of the grid with Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel while teammate Nico Rosberg could only manage the third fastest time. Kimi Raikkonen, in the sister Ferrari, will start alongside Rosberg in fourth. Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa will line up fifth and sixth respectively for Williams.

The earlier sessions of qualifying had its own drama’s as Jenson Button and McLaren’s miserable weekend continued with yet another stoppage. Nevertheless, teammate Fernando Alonso gave the team some reprieve as he advanced beyond the first part of qualifying. Similarly, Daniil Kvyat was unable to advance to Q2 after having suffered a difficult start to his weekend. Carlos Sainz Jr got the better of Toro Rosso teammate Max Verstappen while Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado fell at the first hurdle after suffering an engine related issue.

Photo credit Mercedes Benz AMG Petronas F1