Hamilton on French pole, Ricciardo fifth

Daniel Ricciardo was out-qualified by four drivers for the French Grand Prix, including his Red Bull teammate Max Vertappen and pole sitter Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo

Australia's Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth fastest in his Red Bull for the GP in southern France. (AAP)

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth fastest for Formula One's French Grand Prix, behind pole sitter Lewis Hamilton and his own teammate Max Verstappen.

Hamilton produced a 1 minute 30.029 seconds lap and secured a record-extending 75th pole position to start alongside Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas on the grid for Sunday's race.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari will start the race from third, followed by Red Bull pair Verstappen and Ricciardo.

Charles Leclerc, 20, continued his impressive debut season by making the final shoot-out for the first time. He will start his Sauber in eighth

There was more gloom at McLaren, with last weekend's Le Mans 24 Hours winner and double world champion Fernando Alonso managing only the 16th best time. His Belgian team mate Stoffel Vandoorne was 18th.

F1 is returning to France for the first time in a decade and the Paul Ricard track is hosting its first elite race since 1990.

"It feels great to be back in France. It's such a beautiful place. I got a great response from the crowd and I'm delighted to be here for the first time," Hamilton, who described his final session as 'so-so', said.

Defending champion Hamilton, who also topped both practice sessions on Friday, and teammate Bottas benefited from an engine upgrade that Mercedes had failed to roll out in the last round when Hamilton lost the lead to Vettel.

Hamilton trails Vettel, 121, by one point at the top of the standings heading into the race at the Paul Ricard Circuit.

Bottas is third on 86, with Ricciardo fourth on 84 and Kimi Raikkonen fifth as the battle for supremacy among the drivers hits fever pitch.

It was the third pole of the season for the 33-year-old Hamilton.


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Source: AAP



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