Vettel on pole for home German Grand Prix
Formula One world championship leader Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari on pole position for his home German Grand Prix on Saturday after title rival Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes broke down on track.
The pole, in a track record time of one minute 11.212 seconds, drew a huge roar from the crowd on a damp day at Hockenheim.
"It was amazing to see so many red flags, German flags, so much support around the track," said the four-times world champion, who has yet to win at the circuit nearest to his birthplace.
"It just kept getting better and better and I knew in the last lap I had more in me and I was able to squeeze everything out."
Hamilton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas will start alongside Vettel on the front row, with Ferrari's 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen third and Red Bull's Max Verstappen fourth on the grid.
Hamilton, also a four-times champion and eight points behind Vettel, qualified 14th after being sidelined by an hydraulics problem early on.
The Briton tried in vain to push the stricken car back to the pits, with the help of some marshals, before then crouching in some distress next to it after it had been wheeled off.
"I didn't really understand exactly what had...
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