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Sebastian Vettel at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão
Photo: Jose Sena Goulao / AP
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has taken the first pole position in a Formula 1 race on the track of the "Autódromo Internacional do Algarve".
In qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix, the 35-year-old world champion once again drove away from the competition; his Mercedes colleague Valtteri Bottas was 0.102 seconds slower.
From third place on Sunday (2.10 p.m., live ticker: SPIEGEL.de; TV: RTL, Sky), Dutchman Max Verstappen will start the race in the Red Bull.
Behind him, Charles Leclerc landed in the Ferrari, team-mate Sebastian Vettel will start from 15th place.
When asked about the renewed deficit on his team-mate, Vettel said: "At the moment I don't see any country".
In the current season, Vettel has only made it into the top ten in three of eleven qualifying sessions.
The races in Austria, Hungary and Silverstone were among the first four races of the season.
Ferrari has been struggling with the car since the beginning of the year and is only slowly developing it, the focus seems to be on Leclerc.
Vettel is moving to Racing Point for the coming season, which will be taken over by Aston Martin.
Vettel and the rebellious manhole cover
The qualification for the Formula 1 premiere in Portimão began with a delay.
Towards the end of the third training session, a manhole cover had come loose after Vettel had driven over it.
However, the German was not to blame.
A small part of the 33-year-old's Ferrari flew away.
The training was interrupted - and no longer continued.
Some track employees concreted the place.
To speed up the work, the concrete was dried with a hairdryer.
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